PharVision Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 5,337 American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in American States Water by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in American States Water by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of American States Water by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR stock opened at $79.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.44. American States Water has a 12 month low of $69.46 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWR has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.