D.A. Davidson & CO. Reduces Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $8,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 18,820.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in American States Water by 31.4% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR stock opened at $85.41 on Wednesday. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.76.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.