GSA Capital Partners LLP Sells 4,110 Shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP reduced its stake in American States Water Company by 35.6%, selling 4,110 shares and now holding 7,450 shares valued at approximately $586,000.
• American States Water recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.504 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on September 3rd, indicating strong financial performance.
• Wells Fargo upgraded American States Water's rating from "underweight" to "equal weight," raising the target price from $76.00 to $84.00.

GSA Capital Partners LLP lowered its stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 35.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,110 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in American States Water were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in American States Water by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,467 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American States Water Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of AWR traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $76.22. The stock had a trading volume of 124,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,988. The business's fifty day moving average is $76.50 and its 200 day moving average is $76.86. 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 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.62.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). American States Water had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.504 dividend. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American States Water's payout ratio is 57.23%.

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.