Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Grows Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $343,900,000 after buying an additional 132,674 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of American States Water by 0.8% in the 2nd 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 grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 24,042 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 205.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,974,000 after purchasing an additional 296,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $31,815,000 after buying an additional 197,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $85.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.