Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $620,000 Stock Position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) by 81.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,530 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWR. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at $1,359,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR opened at $76.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.62. American States Water Company has a one year low of $70.30 and a one year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.09.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is 57.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.