Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 33,371 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,371 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.90% of American States Water worth $375,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in American States Water by 198.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded down $3.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $75.29. The company had a trading volume of 386,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,653. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business's 50 day moving average price is $76.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.47.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.17 million. Research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's payout ratio is 58.68%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.