Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 29.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.17% of American States Water worth $4,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 633.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 44,000.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $82.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.86. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $85.71.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at $3,115,801.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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.