Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.98 Million Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 22nd, 2023

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,375 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of American States Water worth $20,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in American States Water by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial increased its position in American States Water by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 8,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its position in American States Water by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 26,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 74.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $86.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.35. American States Water has a 1 year low of $71.22 and a 1 year high of $100.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66 and a beta of 0.41.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $125.37 million during the quarter. American States Water had a net margin of 18.12% and a return on equity of 12.74%. On average, analysts expect that American States Water will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.3975 per share. This represents a $1.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $89.99 per share, with a total value of $179,980.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,980. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on American States Water in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American States Water currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.67.