American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Given New $165.00 Price Target at Argus

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Argus from $155.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Argus‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.09% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AWK. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Huntington lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $149.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.12.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $148.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.05. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $120.57 and a 1-year high of $153.69. The stock has a market cap of $29.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.56.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 4,913.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 38.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 7,221 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $334,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 40,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.