GSA Capital Partners LLP Trims Stock Position in 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 trimmed its stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 35.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,110 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in American States Water were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 6.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in American States Water by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AWR stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $74.57. 268,964 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,129. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.66 and its 200-day moving average is $76.89. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. American States Water Company has a fifty-two week low of $70.29 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.504 dividend. 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 2.7%. This is a boost from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.