SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 224.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,244 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.12% of American States Water worth $3,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% during the 4th 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 897 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,350.27. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock opened at $78.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.64 and a 200-day moving average of $77.63. American States Water has a 52 week low of $69.49 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.23%.

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.