Short Interest in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Declines By 8.7%

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 705,700 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the December 15th total of 773,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 204,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR opened at $74.99 on Monday. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.36. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.53.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American States Water by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,884,000 after purchasing an additional 13,024 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,389,000 after buying an additional 6,372 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 205.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,974,000 after buying an additional 296,361 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 107.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,815,000 after acquiring an additional 197,556 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.