Riverbridge Partners LLC Makes New $34.16 Million Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Riverbridge Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 263,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,155,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.13% of American Water Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,712,173,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 35.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,911,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,962,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883,057 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth about $1,171,477,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,351,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,081,000 after purchasing an additional 179,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $443,787,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $150.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.56. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.57 and a 1-year high of $153.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39.

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). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Huntington lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.14.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.