XTX Topco Ltd Purchases Shares of 5,864 American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has acquired a new stake in American States Water Company, purchasing 5,864 shares valued at approximately $461,000.
• American States Water recently reported earnings of $0.87 per share, missing analysts' estimates, with revenues of $163.07 million, while maintaining a 20.26% net margin.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.504 per share, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend, with an annualized yield of 2.7%.

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,864 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 148,858 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 76,300 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,719,000 after buying an additional 71,501 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at $5,234,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3,834.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,324,000 after acquiring an additional 65,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Trading Down 0.4%

AWR traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.78. 170,833 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,013. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. American States Water Company has a one year low of $70.29 and a one year high of $87.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.62.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%. American States Water's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.504 dividend. This is a boost from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.88%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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.