Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys New Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,653,000 after purchasing an additional 102,489 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.65. The stock had a trading volume of 232,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,379. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a twelve month low of $69.46 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American States Water 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.