American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:AWR traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.05. 232,402 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 219,247. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.78 and a 200 day moving average of $79.23. American States Water has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at $3,115,801.91. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American States Water during the first quarter worth approximately $632,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in American States Water by 18.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 19,391 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American States Water during the first quarter worth approximately $533,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in American States Water by 63.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 10,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in American States Water by 104.3% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 19,366 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 9,889 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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.