American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Short Interest Up 5.2% in September

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 391,200 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 372,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 221,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 205.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,974,000 after purchasing an additional 296,361 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 182.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 220,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,018,000 after buying an additional 142,664 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,760,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $343,900,000 after buying an additional 132,674 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.7% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 87,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,346,000 after acquiring an additional 42,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 70.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 100,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,246,000 after acquiring an additional 41,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $83.88. 169,759 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,582. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.98.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The company had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.78%.

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.