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

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired 69,732 shares of American States Water Company in Q1, representing a stake valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• American States Water recently reported earnings per share of $0.87, which fell short of expectations, alongside a revenue of $163.07 million compared to the anticipated $170.64 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.504 per share, reflecting a positive change from its previous payout, with an annual yield of 2.7%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 69,732 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,487,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.18% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AWR. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 62,545.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 148,858 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in American States Water during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,576,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in American States Water by 107.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,719,000 after acquiring an additional 71,501 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 3,834.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,324,000 after acquiring an additional 65,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in American States Water during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,544,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Trading Down 0.4%

American States Water stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.16. 304,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,633. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.96. American States Water Company has a 52 week low of $70.29 and a 52 week high of $87.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released 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). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The firm had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.504 per share. This is an increase from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is 61.77%.

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.