Robeco Schweiz AG Trims Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Robeco Schweiz AG reduced its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 282,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 57,851 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings in American States Water were worth $21,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,884,000 after purchasing an additional 13,024 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 102,489 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 13,276 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in American States Water by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 158,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,184,000 after buying an additional 36,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in American States Water by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 107,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,343,000 after buying an additional 8,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

American States Water Stock Down 1.0 %

American States Water stock opened at $76.82 on Thursday. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $87.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Equities analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

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.