Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 21.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in American Water Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in American Water Works by 65.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 969,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,709,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $1,783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $126.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.97. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.71.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

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.