Sei Investments Co. Invests $495,000 in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $495,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American States Water by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,884,000 after purchasing an additional 13,024 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in American States Water by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,653,000 after acquiring an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 434,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,765,000 after acquiring an additional 15,750 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 251,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 107,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,343,000 after purchasing an additional 8,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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American States Water Trading Up 0.4 %

AWR traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.07. 6,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 220,032. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.17. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value 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. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.