Magellan Asset Management Ltd Invests $3.04 Million in American States Water Company $AWR

Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 36,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $602,749,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,657,000 after purchasing an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 758,452 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in American States Water by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,225,000 after buying an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AWR stock opened at $88.90 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $69.45 and a 1-year high of $90.42.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%.The company had revenue of $181.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.5455 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the sale, the director owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About American States Water

American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR), founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.