Raymond James & Associates Purchases 790 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 25th, 2023

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.12% of American States Water worth $4,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 16.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,572,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $291,218,000 after acquiring an additional 507,209 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management boosted its stake in American States Water by 463.2% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 104,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,278,000 after purchasing an additional 85,713 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of American States Water by 7.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,048,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,326,000 after buying an additional 76,476 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2,422.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,403,000 after buying an additional 66,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,556,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $405,643,000 after buying an additional 63,608 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on American States Water in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 2,000 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $89.99 per share, with a total value of $179,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock opened at $88.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20 and a beta of 0.41. American States Water has a twelve month low of $71.22 and a twelve month high of $100.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). American States Water had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 18.12%. The company had revenue of $125.37 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 19th will be given a $0.3975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $1.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.