Graham Capital Management L.P. Decreases Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Graham Capital Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 58.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,830 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in American States Water were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,935,000 after buying an additional 264,257 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,250,000 after buying an additional 82,951 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AWR. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $75.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $78.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.55. American States Water has a twelve month low of $69.46 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.23%.

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.

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