Cibc World Markets Corp Makes New Investment in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 3,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its position in American States Water by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 16.1% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 400.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American States Water by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,653,000 after acquiring an additional 102,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American States Water Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AWR opened at $74.52 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.82. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.