Quest Partners LLC Sells 28,659 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Quest Partners LLC trimmed its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 78.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,659 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $85.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.02 and a 200 day moving average of $79.65. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.49.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid 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 2.19%. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AWR. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.