Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.65 Million Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 102,489 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.29% of American States Water worth $37,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AWR shares. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th.

American States Water Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of AWR traded up $2.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 251,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,213. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.00 and a 200 day moving average of $80.37. 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 has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 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 Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

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.