American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 224.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 32,244 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.12% of American States Water worth $3,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,506,000 after purchasing an additional 33,371 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake 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 worth $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,393,000 after purchasing an additional 32,938 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,924,000 after purchasing an additional 76,300 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Down 0.6%

AWR traded down $0.48 on Friday, reaching $78.10. 159,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,414. American States Water has a one year low of $69.49 and a one year high of $87.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.63. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 business had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 897 shares of American States Water 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 8,467 shares in the company, valued at $650,350.27. The trade was a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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.