Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases 5,472 Shares of American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in American States Water Company by 20%, acquiring an additional 5,472 shares in the first quarter, raising its total holdings to 32,892 shares valued at approximately $2.58 million.
• Wells Fargo upgraded American States Water from an **"underweight"** rating to **"equal weight"**, raising their target price from **$76** to **$84**.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.504** per share, increasing its annualized dividend to **$2.02**, representing a yield of **2.7%**.

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,472 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.09% of American States Water worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the first quarter worth $327,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 29.4% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 27.3% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 119,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 25,697 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,576,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the 1st quarter worth about $479,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AWR stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.61. 28,592 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 222,180. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.62. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $70.29 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.05.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

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.