HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) by 34.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,199 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Group One Trading L.P. bought a new position in American States Water in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in American States Water in the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in American States Water by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in American States Water by 100.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. 74.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 stock was bought at an average price of $89.99 per share, for a total transaction of $179,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,980. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on American States Water in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.67.

American States Water Price Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $87.73 on Friday. American States Water has a 52 week low of $71.22 and a 52 week high of $100.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98 and a beta of 0.41.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $125.37 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.77%.

About American States Water

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