American States Water Company $AWR Stock Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) by 44.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,304 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in American States Water were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWR. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $85.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.56. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $69.45 and a 1-year high of $91.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.32.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.72 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.5455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5040. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is 59.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Profile

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) is a water and utility services company that provides regulated water and electric services, as well as contracted operations and maintenance services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers through its operating subsidiaries.

Through Golden State Water Company, American States Water supplies water to communities primarily in California. Its Bear Valley Electric Service subsidiary provides electric distribution service in the Big Bear area of San Bernardino County, California.