Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,479 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $2,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in American States Water by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,935,000 after acquiring an additional 264,257 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 107.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,815,000 after acquiring an additional 197,556 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,250,000 after acquiring an additional 82,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 332.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Up 0.9 %

AWR opened at $80.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.15. American States Water has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $87.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. Equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.