SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stock Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 86.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,533 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 702.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in American States Water by 193.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $82.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.