American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Position Decreased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of American States Water worth $3,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,506,000 after buying an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,887 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at $637,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $495,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 4,385 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR stock opened at $77.84 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.63. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% 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.