Blankinship & Foster LLC Takes Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,234,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in American States Water by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at $1,359,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $79.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.17. American States Water has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. As a group, research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is 58.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.