American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Lowered to “Underperform” Rating by Bank of America

Bank of America cut shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $71.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $85.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AWR. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AWR stock opened at $73.30 on Monday. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.09.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in American States Water by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American States Water by 16.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of American States Water by 110.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,884,000 after purchasing an additional 13,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 31.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 72,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,056,000 after buying an additional 17,295 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.