Voleon Capital Management LP Buys New Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 32,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after acquiring an additional 9,123 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 265.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,587,000 after acquiring an additional 38,420 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,087,000 after acquiring an additional 11,620 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in American Water Works by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 625,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,875,000 after acquiring an additional 125,474 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $146.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.49 and a 200 day moving average of $134.77.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 56.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.00.

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.