D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $7.38 Million Stake in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,791 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,574 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned about 0.24% of American States Water worth $7,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in American States Water by 2.1% in the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings 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 valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $650,350.27. The trade was a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American States Water Stock Down 0.4%

American States Water stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.10. The stock had a trading volume of 103,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,654. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $78.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $70.30 and a 1-year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. American States Water's payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AWR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

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.