American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Short Interest Update

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the November 15th total of 4,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $129.59. 747,829 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,204,335. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.88.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 9,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 17.2% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 68.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.