American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Raised to "Hold" at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Trading Up 2.2 %

American States Water stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.46. 405,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 218,653. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $83.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American States Water in the 1st quarter worth about $632,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in American States Water by 18.1% in 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 stake in shares of American States Water during the first quarter worth about $533,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in American States Water by 63.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 10,538 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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