American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Sold by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd cut its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 59.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in American States Water were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in American States Water during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in American States Water by 18,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $83.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,115,801.91. This trade represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.