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

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,791 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,574 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned approximately 0.24% of American States Water worth $7,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in American States Water by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in American States Water by 62,545.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 148,858 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,924,000 after buying an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of American States Water stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.00. 265,178 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,179. 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 52 week low of $70.30 and a 52 week high of $87.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.95. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.61.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. American States Water's payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.