Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 582,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $45,254,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.55% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,506,000 after buying an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,884,000 after acquiring an additional 13,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American States Water by 26.8% during the fourth 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 434,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,765,000 after purchasing an additional 15,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in American States Water by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water
In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.
American States Water Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE AWR traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.15. 356,699 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,438. 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 market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.23 and a 200-day moving average of $79.28.
American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American States Water Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is 58.68%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AWR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AWR
About American States Water
(
Free Report)
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.
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