Short Interest in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Decreases By 6.5%

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 428,800 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the October 15th total of 458,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 201,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $85.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The firm 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%. American States Water’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.4% during the 2nd 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 increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in American States Water in the second quarter worth about $80,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.