Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 9,272 Shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,272 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of American States Water worth $2,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in American States Water by 198.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE AWR traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.10. The company had a trading volume of 103,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,311. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.09. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $70.29 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 20.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. American States Water's payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th.

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.