Short Interest in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Rises By 5.2%

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 391,200 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 372,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 221,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

American States Water Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AWR stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 169,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,582. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.07. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $85.71. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is 60.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in American States Water during the second quarter worth about $1,161,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,049,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.