American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Sold by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. trimmed its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of American States Water by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth about $1,488,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Stock Up 1.0 %

AWR traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.89. 72,577 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 225,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.43. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $92.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.37.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

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.