67,343 Shares in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 67,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.18% of American States Water as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American States Water by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of American States Water by 400.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,653,000 after acquiring an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $74.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $75.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.82. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 58.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

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

American States Water 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.