PharVision Advisers LLC Takes Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 367.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE AWR opened at $79.23 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.44. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $69.46 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target 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.