Insider Selling: American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Director Sells $40,075.20 in Stock

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $40,075.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,971,105.50. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

American States Water Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $74.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. American States Water Company has a 12-month low of $69.45 and a 12-month high of $86.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.05. American States Water had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $182.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.504 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 59.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American States Water presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $77.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 6.2% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in American States Water by 1.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.