American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 68.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,076 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in American States Water were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 172.8% in the 3rd 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 American States Water by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,506,000 after buying an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 400.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.65. 232,472 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 217,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a 1-year low of $69.46 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.45 and a 200-day moving average of $78.16.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Bank of America downgraded American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Company 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.