Nuveen LLC Takes Position in American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 121,714 shares of American States Water Company, valued at approximately $9.6 million, marking a 0.32% ownership stake.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.87, missing expectations, with revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter.
• American States Water announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.504, yielding approximately 2.7%, with a payout ratio of 61.77%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 121,714 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,576,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.32% of American States Water as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American States Water by 14.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 329,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,627,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 186,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 153,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,936,000 after purchasing an additional 35,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 152,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,974,000 after purchasing an additional 44,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 897 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American States Water has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

American States Water Trading Up 0.4%

AWR traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.63. 9,270 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,953. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.62. American States Water Company has a 1 year low of $70.29 and a 1 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $163.07 million for 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.504 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

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.