Prudential Financial Inc. Has $3.30 Million Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $3,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AWR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 198.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in American States Water by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AWR shares. Bank of America cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 lowered their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American States Water Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AWR opened at $77.84 on Thursday. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. Equities analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.68%.

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.