Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.15 Million Stake in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 472,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,296 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.23% of American States Water worth $37,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the first quarter worth approximately $434,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the first quarter worth approximately $354,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 81.1% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 41.8% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 152,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,974,000 after acquiring an additional 44,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 2.1% in the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.00. The company had a trading volume of 265,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,009. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. American States Water Company has a one year low of $70.29 and a one year high of $87.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $78.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.61.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 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 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

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.