JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 82,951 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 82,951 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.94% of American States Water worth $27,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Barclays PLC grew its position in American States Water by 172.8% in the 3rd 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. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 400.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after buying an additional 33,371 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,653,000 after acquiring an additional 102,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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American States Water Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE:AWR traded up $2.45 on Friday, hitting $78.16. The stock had a trading volume of 267,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,976. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $76.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56.

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. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's payout ratio is 58.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.