BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,171 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in American States Water were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 198.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Up 0.8%

AWR opened at $80.18 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water has a one year low of $69.46 and a one year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 57.23%.

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.