Barclays PLC Buys 7,076 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,076 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.23% of American States Water worth $6,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of American States Water by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 107.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,815,000 after purchasing an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in American States Water by 332.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AWR shares. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $81.04. 338,275 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,325. American States Water has a 1 year low of $69.46 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The business had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. Equities analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

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.