Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 17,487 American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in American States Water by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Remove Ads

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE AWR traded down $0.72 on Monday, reaching $74.72. 159,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 198,670. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $75.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. As a group, research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.