American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Stock Holdings Decreased by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lessened its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 47.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,313 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.06% of American States Water worth $1,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at $45,254,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in American States Water by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,250,000 after acquiring an additional 82,951 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in American States Water by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Trading Up 2.1 %

American States Water stock opened at $77.72 on Friday. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. On average, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.