SFE Investment Counsel Acquires 5,514 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

SFE Investment Counsel boosted 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities & 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.23. The company had a trading volume of 784,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,452,098. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.18. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $152.99.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.