Legal & General Group Plc Sells 7,706 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,706 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.97% of American States Water worth $28,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in American States Water by 2,173.9% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 367.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in American States Water by 198.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of American States Water stock opened at $78.16 on Monday. 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America downgraded American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Company 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.