Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 519 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 519 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in American States Water were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 172.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 875.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 12,875 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:AWR opened at $78.17 on Friday. American States Water has a 1-year low of $69.46 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.