HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 12.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,109 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in American States Water by 0.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,389,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 450,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,714,000 after acquiring an additional 24,042 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 205.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,974,000 after acquiring an additional 296,361 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 3.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 107.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,815,000 after acquiring an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on American States Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th.

American States Water Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $83.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. American States Water has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.50.

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 company had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

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.