American States Water Company $AWR Stock Position Lowered by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of American States Water worth $5,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 62,545.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,731,000 after buying an additional 148,858 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,924,000 after buying an additional 76,300 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,719,000 after buying an additional 71,501 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,234,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in American States Water by 3,834.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 65,945 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. The trade was a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $74.04 on Tuesday. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $70.29 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.01.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

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.