Fmr LLC Acquires 17,295 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

FMR LLC raised its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,295 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 0.19% of American States Water worth $6,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in American States Water by 18.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,203,000 after acquiring an additional 19,391 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 6,372 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in American States Water by 21.8% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 122,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,866,000 after buying an additional 21,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in American States Water by 92.7% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 87,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,346,000 after buying an additional 42,064 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 119,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,993. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $84.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.51. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AWR. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on American States Water in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company.

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.