American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Position Lifted by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 62,545.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 148,858 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of American States Water worth $11,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in American States Water by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 12.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Trading Up 0.2%

American States Water stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $76.57. The company had a trading volume of 215,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,567. American States Water Company has a 12-month low of $70.30 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.62.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.