Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires 5,801 Shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,801 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC owned 0.15% of American States Water worth $4,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AWR. Wall Street Zen upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE:AWR traded up $2.23 on Monday, hitting $79.99. The stock had a trading volume of 195,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,659. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.82 and its 200 day moving average is $77.29. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. American States Water Company has a 52 week low of $70.30 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

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.