Northstar Asset Management Inc. Has $758,000 Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Northstar Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 82.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 45,674 shares during the quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in American States Water were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 8,274.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 309,363 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,767,000 after buying an additional 305,669 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,815,000 after acquiring an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 114.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 271,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,599,000 after acquiring an additional 144,510 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in 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, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,956,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of 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.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.47. The stock had a trading volume of 275,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,478. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $75.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. American States Water has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 20.03%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

About American States Water

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.