Bryce Point Capital LLC Takes $827,000 Position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $827,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Norges Bank bought a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,935,000 after buying an additional 264,257 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 62,545.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 149,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,731,000 after buying an additional 148,858 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,250,000 after acquiring an additional 82,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 603,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,924,000 after acquiring an additional 76,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $72.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $70.29 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.83.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.81 per share, with a total value of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,467 shares in the company, valued at $650,350.27. This represents a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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.

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.