Bank of America Corp DE Has $10.72 Million Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 107.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 71,501 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.37% of American States Water worth $10,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 0.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,935,000 after buying an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,393,000 after acquiring an additional 32,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,924,000 after acquiring an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $78.81. 256,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 217,347. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a 52 week low of $69.46 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. American States Water's payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About American States Water

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.