Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 9,762 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 130.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,762 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in American States Water were worth $1,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in American States Water by 367.3% during the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 56.7% in 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. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American States Water Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of American States Water stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 129,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,642. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.48 and a 200 day moving average of $79.82. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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.