American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Purchased by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 130.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,762 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in American States Water by 2,173.9% during 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in American States Water by 198.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in American States Water by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American States Water Price Performance

American States Water stock opened at $75.18 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.