American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Stake Cut by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 0.5% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 22,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in American States Water by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in American States Water by 1.0% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR opened at $69.22 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.66 and its 200-day moving average is $76.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.43. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $92.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.24.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. American States Water’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

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.