First Trust Advisors LP Sells 8,343 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,014,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,343 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.71% of American States Water worth $78,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,506,000 after purchasing an additional 33,371 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position 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 valued at $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in American States Water by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,393,000 after purchasing an additional 32,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,254,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.84. 180,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 218,409. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. American States Water has a 12-month low of $69.37 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $77.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's payout ratio is 58.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Company 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.