Everence Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Everence Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,130 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $281,724,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 64,405.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,838,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,208,000 after buying an additional 1,835,544 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in American Water Works by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,114,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $730,062,000 after buying an additional 528,070 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 7,752.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,803,000 after buying an additional 477,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 12,606.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 463,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $612,320,000 after buying an additional 460,262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $113.82 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $152.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 22.30%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

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.