Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Invests $327,000 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. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 62,545.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 148,858 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 1st quarter valued at $9,576,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of American States Water by 14.5% during the fourth 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. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,719,000 after acquiring an additional 71,501 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 3,834.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,324,000 after acquiring an additional 65,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE AWR traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $74.50. The company had a trading volume of 322,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,025. American States Water Company has a 52 week low of $70.29 and a 52 week high of $87.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $75.60 and its 200-day moving average is $77.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.62.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.American States Water's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.504 per share. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

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.