Dean Capital Management Trims Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Dean Capital Management cut its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 75.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,795 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management's holdings in American States Water were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 0.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 264,257 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in American States Water by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,393,000 after buying an additional 32,938 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in American States Water by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,924,000 after buying an additional 76,300 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of AWR traded down $2.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 80,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,209. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water has a 52-week low of $69.46 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $78.32 and its 200-day moving average is $78.59.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. American States Water's payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

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.