3,810 Shares in American States Water Company $AWR Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in American States Water during the first quarter worth $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 145.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 62.2% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in American States Water during the first quarter valued at $200,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American States Water presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $77.50.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $76.25 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $69.85 and a twelve month high of $87.20.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $163.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.64 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

American States Water 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.