Barclays PLC Boosts Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

by · The Markets Daily

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,076 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.23% of American States Water worth $6,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,506,000 after purchasing an additional 33,371 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in American States Water by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,935,000 after buying an additional 264,257 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 855,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,471,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,393,000 after acquiring an additional 32,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,254,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AWR opened at $79.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.48 and a 200 day moving average of $79.03. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. American States Water has a 52-week low of $69.37 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 58.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on American States Water

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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