Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Decreases Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,389,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in American States Water by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 450,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,714,000 after buying an additional 24,042 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 205.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,974,000 after acquiring an additional 296,361 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 107.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,815,000 after acquiring an additional 197,556 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

American States Water Stock Down 0.1 %

American States Water stock opened at $85.31 on Monday. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.15 and a 200 day moving average of $79.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.63%.

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.