Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 20,510 Shares of American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management increased its stake in American States Water by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,510 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 462,887 shares worth about $33.55 million.
• American States Water reported Q2 revenue growth of 14.3% year over year to $169.19 million, though earnings per share of $0.76 came in slightly below analyst expectations of $0.77.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.504 per share, equal to an annualized $2.02 dividend yield of 2.7%, while analysts currently maintain a consensus Buy rating on the stock.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 462,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,510 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.20% of American States Water worth $33,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 55.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 720,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,847,000 after acquiring an additional 258,388 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in American States Water by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 738,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,495,000 after acquiring an additional 164,559 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 512.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 187,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,780,000 after acquiring an additional 157,276 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in American States Water by 632.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 153,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,157,000 after acquiring an additional 132,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in American States Water by 238.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 174,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,784,000 after acquiring an additional 122,823 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total value of $99,169.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,846. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR opened at $75.73 on Friday. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $69.45 and a twelve month high of $81.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $157.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. American States Water's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.504 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 58.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

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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