W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Grows Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in American Water Works by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the business’s 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.75. 1,735,768 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,694,021. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $151.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.42.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Water Works Company 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.