American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers cut its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,358 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.32% of American States Water worth $9,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised 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. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AWR shares. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Trading Up 0.7 %

AWR stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.56. 251,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,725. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. 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 one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The business 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 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. Equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.