Cibc World Markets Corp Purchases Shares of 3,488 American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,488 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 107.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,815,000 after buying an additional 197,556 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,234,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,956,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 49,851 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.72. 146,773 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,437. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

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American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. American States Water's payout ratio is 58.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.82% 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.