American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Short Interest Update

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 508,500 shares, a growth of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 435,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 231,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of American States Water stock opened at $69.91 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.17. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $92.85.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in American States Water by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 8,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 1st quarter worth approximately $371,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in American States Water by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 44,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,008,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,946,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.