Short Interest in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Expands By 17.8%

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 765,900 shares, a growth of 17.8% from the November 15th total of 649,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 217,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,716. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.59. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AWR. Bank of America began coverage on American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 31.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in American States Water by 18,820.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in American States Water during the second quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Company 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.