Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,152,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of American States Water as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American States Water Stock Down 1.3%

AWR opened at $77.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.68 and a 200-day moving average of $77.46. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $69.49 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.