American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 705,700 shares, a decrease of 8.7% from the December 31st total of 773,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 204,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of American States Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company.

American States Water Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AWR traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.59. The stock had a trading volume of 261,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,552. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.18 and a 200 day moving average of $81.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.53. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 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 firm had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 97,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,567,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Company 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.