Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 264,257 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in American States Water were worth $86,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,254,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 107.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,815,000 after buying an additional 197,556 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,250,000 after buying an additional 82,951 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 77,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at $5,234,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at American States Water

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

American States Water Price Performance

AWR stock opened at $77.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.71. 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 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

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.