American States Water Company $AWR Stock Position Reduced by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has reduced its stake in American States Water Company by 31.8%, selling 23,608 shares and now holding approximately 50,654 shares worth $3,985,000.
• American States Water has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.504 per share, up from $0.47 previously, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%.
• Institutional investors own 75.24% of American States Water's stock, with several firms increasing their holdings during the last quarter.

Trexquant Investment LP cut its position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 31.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,608 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.13% of American States Water worth $3,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in American States Water by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,924,000 after acquiring an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 329,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,627,000 after buying an additional 45,708 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 186,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,709,000 after buying an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 153,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,936,000 after buying an additional 35,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd grew its stake 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 valued at $11,974,000 after buying an additional 44,834 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Up 0.8%

AWR traded up $0.60 on Thursday, reaching $74.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 211,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,134. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water Company has a 1 year low of $70.29 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business's 50 day moving average is $75.30 and its 200 day moving average is $77.04.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $163.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.64 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 897 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American States Water has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $77.50.

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.