Fmr LLC Acquires 17,295 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Fmr LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,295 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.19% of American States Water worth $6,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 18,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $83.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.32. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.51.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 62.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of American States Water in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th.

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.