B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Invests $220,000 in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AWR. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 590,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,462,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in American States Water by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 30,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,364,000 after purchasing an additional 14,494 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,424,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American States Water from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.62 per share, with a total value of $49,676.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,805.72. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.62 per share, with a total value of $49,676.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,805.72. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Ann Hopkins acquired 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.53 per share, with a total value of $40,056.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,937.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Stock Up 0.2 %

American States Water stock opened at $71.91 on Friday. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $89.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $73.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.46.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62. American States Water had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $135.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.21%.

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.