American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in American States Water were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in American States Water by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in American States Water by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AWR stock opened at $75.52 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. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.