Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 730,838 Shares of American States Water Company $AWR

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in American States Water by 99% in the first quarter, selling 730,838 shares and leaving it with 7,201 shares valued at about $545,000.
• American States Water’s latest quarterly earnings missed EPS estimates by $0.01, though revenue came in above expectations at $169.19 million and rose 14.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.504 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.4%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 99.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 730,838 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in American States Water were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 758,452 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in American States Water by 512.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 187,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,780,000 after purchasing an additional 157,276 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in American States Water by 632.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 153,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,157,000 after buying an additional 132,929 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in American States Water by 238.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 174,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,784,000 after buying an additional 122,823 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $360,657,000 after buying an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of American States Water to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $83.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average price is $78.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.91. American States Water Company has a 52 week low of $69.45 and a 52 week high of $85.63.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.504 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About American States Water

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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