American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.45. The stock had a trading volume of 405,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,653. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.38 and a 200 day moving average of $78.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 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 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,115,801.91. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in American States Water by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 158,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,184,000 after purchasing an additional 36,122 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in American States Water by 86.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake 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 valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.