Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 10,714 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Two Sigma Advisers LP reduced its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 58.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,714 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in American States Water were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in American States Water by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in American States Water by 172.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after buying an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in American States Water by 332.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.60. The company had a trading volume of 119,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,072. American States Water has a 52 week low of $69.46 and a 52 week high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average price is $78.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.86.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 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.