SouthState Corp Reduces Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

SouthState Corp trimmed its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 20,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,590,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of AWK traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.75. 1,710,455 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,497,040. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $151.24. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.29.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 57.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.