Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 130.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,762 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% during the fourth 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. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 198.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water 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 sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Down 0.6 %

AWR stock opened at $75.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.37 and its 200 day moving average is $79.93. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:AWR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. On average, research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.