BlackRock Inc. Buys Shares of 7,294,548 American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 7.29 million shares of American States Water in the second quarter, worth approximately $602.7 million and representing an 18.61% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 75.24% of the company.
• American States Water reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, beating estimates of $0.93, while revenue rose 11.2% year over year to $181.29 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5455 per share, or $2.18 annualized, implying a 2.5% yield. Analysts’ average rating remains “Hold,” despite one recent upgrade to “Buy.”

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,294,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $602,749,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 18.61% of American States Water as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American States Water by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $360,657,000 after purchasing an additional 118,702 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of American States Water by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 758,452 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in American States Water by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,225,000 after acquiring an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in American States Water by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,848 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,625,000 after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,422,709.48. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AWR. Freedom Capital raised American States Water to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American States Water presently has an average rating of "Hold".

American States Water Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AWR opened at $88.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. American States Water Company has a 12 month low of $69.45 and a 12 month high of $90.42. The stock's 50 day moving average is $84.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $181.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.72 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.5455 dividend. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is 59.73%.

About American States Water

American States Water Company NYSE: AWR, founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.

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