3,810 Shares in American States Water Company $AWR Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the first quarter valued at about $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 145.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 62.2% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $77.50.

American States Water Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of American States Water stock opened at $76.25 on Monday. American States Water Company has a 52-week low of $69.85 and a 52-week high of $87.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.59 and a 200 day moving average of $76.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The firm had revenue of $163.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.504 dividend. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

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.