Short Interest in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Declines By 13.4%

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 622,100 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the January 31st total of 718,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 205,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AWR. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Up 0.6 %

American States Water stock opened at $78.01 on Friday. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.80 and a 200 day moving average of $80.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. As a group, research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

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.