Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 22,363 American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management acquired 22,363 shares of American States Water worth approximately $1.85 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75.24% of the company.
• American States Water reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, beating estimates of $0.93, as revenue rose 11.2% year over year to $181.29 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5455 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $2.18 and a 2.4% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 22,363 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $602,749,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American States Water by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $360,657,000 after acquiring an additional 118,702 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in American States Water by 128.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 758,452 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American States Water by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $63,225,000 after purchasing an additional 16,896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Freedom Capital raised shares of American States Water to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $89.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90. American States Water Company has a 1 year low of $69.45 and a 1 year high of $91.72.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.72 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.5455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is 59.73%.

American States Water Company Profile

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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