SFE Investment Counsel Raises Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

SFE Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 8,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.8% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.9% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.23. 784,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,452,098. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.18. The company has a market cap of $22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.63. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $152.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.65.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 22.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About American Water Works

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.