American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway Sells 528 Shares

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway sold 528 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $40,075.20. Following the sale, the director owned 39,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,971,105.50. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

American States Water Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of American States Water stock traded down $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $74.92. 17,716 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 240,179. American States Water Company has a 52-week low of $69.45 and a 52-week high of $86.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.46 and its 200 day moving average is $75.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $182.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is 59.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWR. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 905,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,414,000 after buying an additional 22,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 9.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 864,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,400,000 after buying an additional 75,977 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 720,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,847,000 after acquiring an additional 258,388 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 584,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,846,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $77.50.

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.