Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $275,000 Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 113,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,072,000 after purchasing an additional 22,166 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 9,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Segantii Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,622,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded down $0.37 on Friday, reaching $128.23. 830,758 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,452. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.66 and a 200-day moving average of $125.74. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $151.22. The company has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works 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.