The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 871 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 2.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 31.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of American States Water by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 9.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 9.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

American States Water Stock Down 0.7 %

AWR opened at $82.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $85.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.59.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.78%.

American States Water 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.