Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 453 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 14.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 107.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,815,000 after acquiring an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 19.8% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 40.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 47,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,955,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of American States Water by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at $3,115,801.91. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Up 1.7 %

American States Water stock opened at $85.05 on Monday. 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 $83.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

About American States Water

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.