Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 409,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,653 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.09% of American States Water worth $31,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in American States Water by 18,820.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in American States Water by 7.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in American States Water by 40.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 47,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,955,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 19.8% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of AWR opened at $79.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG 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. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. Equities 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.