American States Water Company $AWR Shares Newly Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 155,842 shares of American States Water in the second quarter, valued at approximately $12.9 million and representing about 0.39% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 75.24% of AWR.
• American States Water reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, exceeding the $0.93 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11.2% year over year to $181.29 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5455 per share, equivalent to a $2.18 annualized payout and a 2.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, despite mixed upgrades and downgrades.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 155,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,877,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.39% of American States Water at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 113.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in American States Water during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AWR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded American States Water to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity

In other American States Water news, Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the sale, the director owned 38,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,422,709.48. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

American States Water stock opened at $82.74 on Friday. American States Water Company has a 12-month low of $69.45 and a 12-month high of $91.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.57.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.5455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.5040. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.73%.

American States Water Company Profile

American States Water Company NYSE: AWR is a holding company that provides water, wastewater, and electric utility services through its operating subsidiaries. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers, with its activities focused primarily on regulated utility operations and contracted infrastructure services.

Through Golden State Water Company, American States Water provides drinking water and wastewater services to communities in California.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.