Insider Selling: American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Director Sells 500 Shares of Stock

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,115,801.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

American States Water Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AWR stock traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $80.64. 206,266 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,776. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.46. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $77.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.35. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The company had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 60.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWR has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 2.9% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 44,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,584,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 9.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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.