Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 268 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in American States Water were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of American States Water by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,653,000 after purchasing an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in American States Water by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 332.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Up 0.8%

AWR opened at $80.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.43. American States Water has a twelve month low of $69.46 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company’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 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock 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 cut American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

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.