Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $4.31 Million Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,184 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.15% of American States Water worth $4,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 107.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,815,000 after purchasing an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 valued at $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 332.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWR traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.84. 180,126 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,486. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $77.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.00. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a 52 week low of $69.37 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.68%.

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.