American States Water Company $AWR Stock: State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Position

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) by 44.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,304 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in American States Water were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the second quarter valued at $5,784,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the second quarter worth $12,877,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the second quarter valued at $1,364,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 60.8% during the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 126,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,545,000 after buying an additional 47,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in American States Water by 2.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,225,000 after buying an additional 16,896 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $85.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $85.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.32. American States Water Company has a fifty-two week low of $69.45 and a fifty-two week high of $91.72.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.72 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.5455 dividend. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5040. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 59.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AWR shares. Freedom Capital raised American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Company Profile

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) is a water and utility services company that provides regulated water and electric services, as well as contracted operations and maintenance services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers through its operating subsidiaries.

Through Golden State Water Company, American States Water supplies water to communities primarily in California. Its Bear Valley Electric Service subsidiary provides electric distribution service in the Big Bear area of San Bernardino County, California.