The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys Shares of 19,160 American States Water Company $AWR

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 19,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,583,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at $602,749,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in American States Water by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $360,657,000 after acquiring an additional 118,702 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in American States Water by 128.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 758,452 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in American States Water by 2.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,225,000 after acquiring an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock opened at $89.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $69.45 and a twelve month high of $91.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.57.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%.The firm had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.5455 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is 59.73%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised American States Water to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

American States Water Company Profile

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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