Cerity Partners LLC Buys 606 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AWR. Robeco Schweiz AG grew its stake in American States Water by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 362,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,539,000 after buying an additional 155,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 21.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,589,000 after purchasing an additional 153,409 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1,651.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 119,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,406,000 after purchasing an additional 112,718 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 199.5% during the 3rd quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 59,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,713,000 after purchasing an additional 39,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,424,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $70.18 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.37. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $92.85. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American States Water 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.