Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 11,614 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 112.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,614 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.06% of American States Water worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 702.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in American States Water by 193.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Up 0.7 %

AWR opened at $85.97 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 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. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $86.91.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.02). The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. American States Water’s payout ratio is 64.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.