American States Water Company $AWR Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,280 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 100.0% during 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 period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 bought at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $77.50.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $74.74 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 current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.85 and a 200-day moving average of $77.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.62.

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 net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.504 per share. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 61.77%.

American States Water Company 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.