American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Short Interest Update

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 508,500 shares, a growth of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 435,100 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 231,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

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 price of $71.21 per share, with a total value of $99,694.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,578.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 44,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 143.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 3,491 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 4,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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 Stock Down 0.6 %

American States Water stock opened at $69.91 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.43. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $92.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.17.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. 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.