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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE AWR traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.50. 140,594 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,768. American States Water Company has a 52-week low of $70.29 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm's 50-day moving average is $75.85 and its 200-day moving average is $77.08.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.504 dividend. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American States Water currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target 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.