Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New Investment in American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management bought 78,809 shares of American States Water worth approximately $6.5 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75.24% of the utility company.
• American States Water reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, beating estimates of $0.93, while revenue rose 11.2% year over year to $181.29 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5455 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.18 dividend and a 2.5% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 78,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,512,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned 0.20% of American States Water as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in American States Water during the second quarter worth about $3,036,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $143,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $272,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,401,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Trading Up 0.3%

AWR opened at $88.90 on Monday. 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 Company has a one year low of $69.45 and a one year high of $90.42. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $84.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.85.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.5455 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. American States Water's payout ratio is 59.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 38,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,422,709.48. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AWR shares. Zacks Research cut American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

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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