Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $5.23 Million Investment in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 67,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in American States Water by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.1% in 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $74.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.48 and a 200-day moving average of $79.82. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.