Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 10.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,135 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of American States Water worth $16,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in American States Water in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 18,820.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Up 0.3 %

AWR stock opened at $85.20 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AWR shares. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Activity at American States Water

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

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.