American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Up 0.3 %

AWR traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $81.66. 158,547 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 220,373. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.52 and a 200 day moving average of $74.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $85.71.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The business had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American States Water by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,760,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $343,900,000 after buying an additional 132,674 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,389,000 after acquiring an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $32,714,000 after purchasing an additional 24,042 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 205.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,974,000 after purchasing an additional 296,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,984,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% 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.