Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in American States Water by 30.9% during the fourth 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. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 62,545.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,731,000 after buying an additional 148,858 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,250,000 after acquiring an additional 82,951 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in American States Water by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,924,000 after purchasing an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.81 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AWR traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.66. 213,953 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 218,430. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.85. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $70.30 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm 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 13.45% and a net margin of 20.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.