Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Makes New Investment in American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. acquired a new stake in American States Water Company, purchasing 4,118 shares valued at approximately $327,000.
• Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water's rating from "underweight" to "equal weight" and increased their target price from $76.00 to $84.00.
• American States Water recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.504 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.47, marking an annual yield of 2.7%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. acquired a new stake in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in American States Water by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 22,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,069 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in American States Water by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,934,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in American States Water by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,924,000 after buying an additional 76,300 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $77.50.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

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

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $75.6740 on Monday. American States Water Company has a 12 month low of $70.29 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.06.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $163.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.77%.

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.

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