Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 67,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,234,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.18% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AWR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in American States Water by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $31,815,000 after purchasing an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AWR. Bank of America lowered American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut 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 cut their price objective 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 report on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Price Performance

AWR opened at $78.84 on Friday. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $77.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. American States Water has a 1 year low of $69.37 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. As a group, analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 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.

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