Dean Capital Management Boosts Stock Holdings in American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management increased its stake in American States Water Company by 48.4%, acquiring a total of 14,748 shares worth approximately $1,160,000.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.504, up from the previous $0.47, yielding 2.7% annually, with a payout ratio of 61.77%.
• American States Water reported $0.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, which fell short of expectations, contributing to a net margin of 20.26% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.0%.

Dean Capital Management increased its position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 48.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management's holdings in American States Water were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 62,545.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 148,858 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water in the first quarter valued at $9,576,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in American States Water by 107.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,719,000 after acquiring an additional 71,501 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in American States Water in the first quarter valued at $5,487,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3,834.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,324,000 after buying an additional 65,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded down $0.40 on Monday, reaching $72.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,495. The stock's 50-day moving average is $74.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.96. American States Water Company has a 52-week low of $70.29 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The firm had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.504 dividend. This is a boost from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.47%.

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.