Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,231 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.07% of American States Water worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AWR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in American States Water by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in American States Water by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,422,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.56. 246,677 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 217,561. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water has a 12-month low of $69.46 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.13 and a 200 day moving average of $78.51.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

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.