New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 5,564 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,564 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.18% of American States Water worth $5,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Quarry LP bought a new position in American States Water in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in American States Water by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in American States Water by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $67.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.87. American States Water has a 52-week low of $67.55 and a 52-week high of $93.67. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.04%.

About American States Water

American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, provides water and electric services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Water, Electric, and Contracted Services. The company purchases, produces, distributes, and sells water, as well as distributes electricity.