Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $1.62 Million Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in American States Water by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,608,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $359,239,000 after purchasing an additional 51,731 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in American States Water by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,572,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $291,218,000 after purchasing an additional 507,209 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in American States Water by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,131,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,622,000 after purchasing an additional 53,468 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,589,000 after acquiring an additional 153,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 770,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,491,000 after acquiring an additional 19,375 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Trading Up 1.9 %

American States Water stock opened at $69.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $92.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. American States Water’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

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.