Synovus Financial Corp Buys Shares of 1,511 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 68.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $123.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $135.46 and its 200-day moving average is $137.79. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given 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 yield of 2.47%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

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.