Regency Capital Management Inc. DE Takes Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Regency Capital Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 205.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,974,000 after buying an additional 296,361 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 182.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 220,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,018,000 after purchasing an additional 142,664 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,760,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $343,900,000 after purchasing an additional 132,674 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position 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 worth $6,346,000 after purchasing an additional 42,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 70.8% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 100,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,246,000 after purchasing an additional 41,576 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at $3,115,801.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AWR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Price Performance

AWR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.77. The stock had a trading volume of 151,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,862. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.31 and a 200 day moving average of $76.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $85.71.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $138.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

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

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.