NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 40,823 Shares of American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its stake in American States Water by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,823 shares and leaving it with 17,993 shares valued at about $1.3 million.
• American States Water reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $0.76 missed estimates by a penny, while revenue of $169.19 million topped expectations and rose 14.3% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.504 per share for a 2.6% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold following a recent downgrade by Zacks Research.

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,823 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in American States Water were worth $1,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Price Performance

AWR stock opened at $77.71 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.60. American States Water Company has a 1 year low of $69.45 and a 1 year high of $81.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.02 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 19.66%.American States Water's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.504 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total value of $50,033.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,979,212.44. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total transaction of $99,169.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,846. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AWR. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American States Water in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

American States Water Company 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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