Man Group plc Trims Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Man Group plc decreased its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,299 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.20% of American States Water worth $5,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after buying an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American States Water by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in American States Water by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,393,000 after purchasing an additional 32,938 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AWR. Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

American States Water Stock Up 0.3%

AWR stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $78.50. The stock had a trading volume of 166,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,189. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.27. American States Water has a one year low of $69.46 and a one year high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. American States Water's payout ratio is 57.23%.

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.