Essex Savings Bank Takes $273,000 Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Essex Savings Bank bought a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 49,851 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 16.1% during 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in American States Water by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,389,000 after buying an additional 6,372 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in American States Water by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,776,000 after buying an additional 11,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 72,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,056,000 after acquiring an additional 17,295 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.99. The stock had a trading volume of 236,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,122. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.53. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $80.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.22.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.63%.

About American States Water

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.