Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.49 Million in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 18,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,488,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned about 0.05% of American States Water at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 22,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in American States Water by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in American States Water by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American States Water Trading Up 1.9 %

AWR stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.25. The company had a trading volume of 418,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,111. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $92.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. American States Water's payout ratio is currently 51.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.