Brighton Jones LLC Acquires 3,653 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,653 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 73.1% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $150.26 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week high of $153.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.05. The company has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.56.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.8950 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. Huntington cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $139.00 price target on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.14.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.