Xponance Inc. Grows Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Xponance Inc. grew its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of AWR stock opened at $77.72 on Friday. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.