Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 144,510 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 114.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 271,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,510 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.72% of American States Water worth $22,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWR. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in American States Water by 31.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in American States Water by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 8,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,115,801.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Price Performance

American States Water stock opened at $82.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.89 and a 200-day moving average of $77.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.81%.

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.