Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Raises Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 50.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,380 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.11% of American States Water worth $3,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in American States Water by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 19,391 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the first quarter worth approximately $533,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 16.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in American States Water by 0.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,389,000 after acquiring an additional 6,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in American States Water by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 122,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,866,000 after acquiring an additional 21,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded up $1.10 on Tuesday, hitting $82.83. 222,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,524. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.17 and its 200 day moving average is $80.28.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

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.