Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 14.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 1st quarter valued at $632,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in American States Water by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 19,391 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in American States Water by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 95,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,671,000 after purchasing an additional 21,270 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 1st quarter worth approximately $533,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of American States Water by 859.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,713,000 after buying an additional 21,236 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $83.98 on Tuesday. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $85.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 60.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.