Captrust Financial Advisors Buys 268 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in American States Water were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of American States Water by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AWR. StockNews.com raised American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR opened at $80.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.17 and a 200 day moving average of $78.43. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $69.46 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.