Invesco Ltd. Sells 27,020 Shares of American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its stake in American States Water Company by 4.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 1.51% of the company, valued at about $45.85 million.
• Wall Street has upgraded American States Water's rating from "underweight" to "equal weight", with a price target increase from $76.00 to $84.00.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.504, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.7%, which will be paid to investors of record on August 15th.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 582,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,020 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.51% of American States Water worth $45,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.64. 41,188 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,389. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50-day moving average price is $75.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.99. American States Water Company has a 52-week low of $70.29 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $163.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.64 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $77.50.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

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

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.