American States Water Company $AWR Shares Sold by Deutsche Bank AG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its holdings in American States Water Company by 6.1%, resulting in ownership of 196,736 shares worth approximately $15.48 million.
• Other institutional investors such as Bessemer Group Inc. significantly increased their stakes in the company, with Bessemer raising its holdings by an astonishing 62,545.4% during the same period.
• American States Water Company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.504 per share, representing a 2.7% dividend yield, with the dividend to be paid on September 3rd.

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,793 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.51% of American States Water worth $15,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Price Performance

AWR stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.12. 65,783 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 224,566. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.22 and its 200 day moving average is $77.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.46. American States Water Company has a 12-month low of $70.29 and a 12-month high of $87.50.

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). The business had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.504 per share. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.47%.

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.