Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $1.36 Million Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in American States Water by 2,173.9% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in American States Water by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of American States Water stock opened at $75.52 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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 sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water 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.