American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Short Interest Update

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 705,700 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the December 15th total of 773,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 204,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of American States Water by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 12,875 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of American States Water by 8.4% in 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. Finally, Essex Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on American States Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company.

American States Water Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AWR traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.99. 236,279 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,505. The stock's 50-day moving average is $80.44 and its 200-day moving average is $81.30. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.53.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.63%.

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.