12,765 Shares in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Purchased by First National Corp MA ADV

First National Corp MA ADV bought a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $992,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 367.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 18,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Up 1.2 %

American States Water stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $75.07. 179,115 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 189,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $76.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.53. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. American States Water's payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Profile

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.