Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $520,000 Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,688 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after acquiring an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in American States Water by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,471,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $45,254,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 102,489 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Bank of America downgraded shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.03. 103,107 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,426. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.17 million. Equities analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 2.33%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.68%.

American States Water 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.