Jane Street Group LLC Sells 45,110 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 93.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,315 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 45,110 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in American States Water were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in American States Water by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,924,000 after purchasing an additional 76,300 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in American States Water by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,934,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,069 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 22,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

American States Water stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 138,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,924. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water has a twelve month low of $69.46 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $78.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.97.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.