StockNews.com Upgrades American States Water (NYSE:AWR) to Hold

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

AWR has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $76.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. Analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.