State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,641 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,641 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in American States Water were worth $2,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth $42,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in American States Water during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in American States Water by 18,820.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth about $80,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday.

American States Water Stock Up 2.2 %

AWR stock opened at $85.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.78 and a 200-day moving average of $79.23. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.63%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.