Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in American States Water Company by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 25,697 shares, bringing its total to 119,886 shares, valued at approximately $9.43 million.
• American States Water recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87 for the latest quarter, missing estimates, with revenue of $163.07 million, up 5% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.504 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.6%, with a payout ratio of 56.88%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,697 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.31% of American States Water worth $9,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR stock traded down $0.51 on Friday, reaching $74.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 257,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,146. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. American States Water Company has a 12-month low of $70.29 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $76.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.99.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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