BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $1.17 Million Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,171 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in American States Water were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after purchasing an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 400.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in American States Water by 332.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,653,000 after acquiring an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Price Performance

American States Water stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 166,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,189. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.27. American States Water has a 12 month low of $69.46 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. American States Water's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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.