Natixis Advisors LLC Invests $822,000 in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,664 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,471,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in American States Water by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 55,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,313,000 after buying an additional 6,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE:AWR traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.58. The stock had a trading volume of 33,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,168. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.62. American States Water Company has a one year low of $70.29 and a one year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.56.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $163.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%. American States Water's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.504 dividend. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 61.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.