Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 192.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,769 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in American States Water were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 172.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in American States Water by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in American States Water by 400.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 332.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,653,000 after acquiring an additional 102,489 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.52. 271,240 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 198,864. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.48 and a 200 day moving average of $79.82. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. On average, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.68%.

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.