Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in American States Water Company $AWR

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 228,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,870,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AWR. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in American States Water by 113.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 38,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,422,709.48. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AWR stock opened at $89.87 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $85.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.45. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $69.45 and a 1-year high of $91.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%.The firm had revenue of $181.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. American States Water’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.5455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. American States Water’s payout ratio is 59.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American States Water currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Profile

American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR), founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.