Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $474,000 Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. State Street Corp lifted its position in American States Water by 16.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,572,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $291,218,000 after acquiring an additional 507,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,951,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 929.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 177,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,447,000 after buying an additional 160,437 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG raised its position in shares of American States Water by 74.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 362,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,539,000 after buying an additional 155,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 21.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,589,000 after buying an additional 153,409 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.21 per share, with a total value of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AWR opened at $67.11 on Thursday. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $92.85. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.63.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.04%.

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.