American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Stock Holdings Lifted by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd raised its position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 41.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,834 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.40% of American States Water worth $11,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in American States Water by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of American States Water during the 1st quarter worth $402,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after purchasing an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 56,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3,834.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 65,945 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AWR stock opened at $76.52 on Friday. American States Water Company has a 12 month low of $70.30 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.21.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 13.45%. American States Water's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,467 shares in the company, valued at $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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