Strs Ohio Has $715,000 Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in American States Water were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Column Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 370.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 153.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE AWR opened at $70.31 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $92.85. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.19 and its 200 day moving average is $76.29.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The company had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 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.