Verition Fund Management LLC Lowers Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,240 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWR. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the second quarter worth $42,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in American States Water during the third quarter valued at $50,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 31.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 18,820.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in American States Water during the second quarter valued at $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Trading Up 0.6 %

AWR stock opened at $83.23 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.32.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AWR. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American States Water in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th.

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.