Aristotle Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,712,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 154,658 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $835,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $147.04 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.