Raymond James & Associates Increases Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.11% of American States Water worth $3,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 36,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,264,000 after purchasing an additional 8,078 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in American States Water by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 25,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in American States Water by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in American States Water by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 108,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,665 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $67.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.87. American States Water has a one year low of $67.55 and a one year high of $93.67.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Company Profile

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.