Magellan Asset Management Ltd Acquires New Position in American States Water Company $AWR

Magellan Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 36,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,036,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.09% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $602,749,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American States Water by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $360,657,000 after acquiring an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in American States Water by 128.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 758,452 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,225,000 after purchasing an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AWR shares. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of American States Water to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of American States Water stock opened at $88.90 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.85. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. American States Water Company has a one year low of $69.45 and a one year high of $90.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company had revenue of $181.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.5455 per share. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.73%.

American States Water Profile

American States Water Company NYSE: AWR, founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.

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