Cullen Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in American States Water Company $AWR

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in American States Water during the second quarter worth $602,749,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,657,000 after buying an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 128.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 758,452 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,225,000 after acquiring an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $90.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $69.45 and a twelve month high of $91.11.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%.The company had revenue of $181.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.5455 dividend. This is a boost from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 59.73%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AWR. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Freedom Capital raised American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About American States Water

American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR), founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.