American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

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

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in American States Water by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AWR shares. Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded up $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.66. The stock had a trading volume of 129,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,642. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $75.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. As a group, research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

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.