Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Purchases New Shares in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.06% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in American States Water by 172.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after buying an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 16.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 400.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

American States Water Stock Down 1.7 %

AWR stock opened at $77.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, 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 current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.06. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.68%.

American States Water Company 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.