Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 1,797 Shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in American States Water by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in American States Water by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in American States Water by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.81 per share, for a total transaction of $68,898.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,350.27. The trade was a 11.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR opened at $75.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. American States Water Company has a 1 year low of $70.29 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.89.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $148.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 20.22%. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.23%.

About American States Water

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.