Twinbeech Capital LP Buys 68,563 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 826.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,563 shares during the quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $143.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $144.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

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.