American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of 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. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $76.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day moving average is $80.35. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in American States Water by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in American States Water by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.