Public Sector Pension Investment Board Lowers Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 79,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.21% of American States Water worth $6,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,389,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in American States Water by 5.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 450,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,714,000 after acquiring an additional 24,042 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 205.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,974,000 after acquiring an additional 296,361 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,815,000 after purchasing an additional 197,556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $85.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.15 and a 200 day moving average of $79.95.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 62.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

American States Water 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.