American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Column Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of American States Water by 370.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of American States Water by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, with a total value of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $69.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.22. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $92.85.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. American States Water’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.04%.

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.