Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 4,385 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 84.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,385 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in American States Water were worth $745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 49,851 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in American States Water by 400.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,653,000 after purchasing an additional 102,489 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWR has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $75.66 on Thursday. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. Analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.