Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $31.82 Million Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 107.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 381,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 197,556 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of American States Water worth $31,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in American States Water during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 18,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in American States Water by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 33.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American States Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.35. The stock had a trading volume of 182,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,865. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $83.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. American States Water's payout ratio is 62.63%.

American States Water Company 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.