UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,040 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.41% of American States Water worth $11,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AWR. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in American States Water by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in American States Water by 400.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research 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 lifted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note 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.

American States Water Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE AWR traded down $1.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.73. 125,503 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,233. American States Water has a 12-month low of $69.46 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The firm 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 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.23%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.