KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $637,000 in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,873,000 after buying an additional 13,276 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 25.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 31.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 72,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,056,000 after purchasing an additional 17,295 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in American States Water by 7.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 9.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded down $3.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $75.29. 386,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,653. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. 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 50-day moving average of $76.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.47. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.