Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 15,750 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 434,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,750 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.16% of American States Water worth $33,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in American States Water by 2,173.9% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 198.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 488.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in American States Water by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AWR stock opened at $79.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.08. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 58.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWR has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lowered American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

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.