American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,636 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $8,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in American States Water by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 107,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,343,000 after purchasing an additional 8,278 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 875.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 12,875 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Price Performance

AWR opened at $79.56 on Friday. American States Water has a 52-week low of $69.46 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.47. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 57.23%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.