Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 34,563 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 87.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,563 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.20% of American States Water worth $5,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 198.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AWR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock opened at $78.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.60.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. Equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.68%.

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.