Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Grows Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $2,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 633.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in American States Water in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 44,000.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AWR shares. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $81.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. American States Water’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.78%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American States Water 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.