PharVision Advisers LLC Purchases New Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in American States Water by 2,173.9% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 198.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $78.50. The stock had a trading volume of 166,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,189. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.27. American States Water has a 52 week low of $69.46 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. American States Water's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. American States Water's payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

About American States Water

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.