121,714 Shares in American States Water Company $AWR Bought by Nuveen LLC

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 121,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,576,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.32% of American States Water at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $179,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR opened at $75.6740 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.89 and a 200-day moving average of $77.04. American States Water Company has a one year low of $70.29 and a one year high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director owned 8,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.