Bank of Montreal Can Sells 1,591 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,591 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.05% of American States Water worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in American States Water by 110.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,884,000 after purchasing an additional 13,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in American States Water during the third quarter worth about $287,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock opened at $80.11 on Friday. American States Water has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its 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 net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. Equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.68%.

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.