Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Acquires 13,595 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.13% of American States Water worth $3,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in American States Water by 10.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 45,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in American States Water by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 32,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,338,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in American States Water by 1,558.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,255 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 8,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 2.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of AWR traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.45. 405,647 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,985. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $83.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.83.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. American States Water's payout ratio is 62.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

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.