ProShare Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 98,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,257 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $7,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 36.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 18,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 5,050 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at $469,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 92.7% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 87,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,346,000 after purchasing an additional 42,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 29.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 62,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $82.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.72. American States Water has a 12 month low of $66.03 and a 12 month high of $85.71.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.78%.

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.