Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in American States Water by 35.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 55,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,361,000 after buying an additional 14,751 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,810,000 after acquiring an additional 23,886 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,848,000 after acquiring an additional 21,800 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water during the third quarter worth approximately $414,000. Finally, EULAV Asset Management acquired a new position in American States Water in the third quarter valued at approximately $460,000. 74.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Down 3.2 %

AWR opened at $86.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a 52 week low of $71.22 and a 52 week high of $100.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66 and a beta of 0.41.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.34). American States Water had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 18.12%. The business had revenue of $125.37 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that American States Water will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be issued a $0.3975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $1.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of American States Water in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.67.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $89.99 per share, for a total transaction of $179,980.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,980. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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