Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 826,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,009 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.21% of American States Water worth $64,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 85,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after buying an additional 7,076 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,234,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,393,000 after purchasing an additional 32,938 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $80.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76. American States Water has a 1-year low of $69.46 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.92.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.