Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,517 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.56% of American States Water worth $16,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AWR. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in American States Water by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of American States Water by 107.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,719,000 after purchasing an additional 71,501 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $311,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in American States Water by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,924,000 after purchasing an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,934,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR traded down $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $78.60. The stock had a trading volume of 14,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 225,607. The business's 50-day moving average price is $78.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. American States Water has a 12-month low of $69.46 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $148.01 million for 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%. American States Water's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price 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 research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Company 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.