Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 367.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in American States Water by 23.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in American States Water by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 11,614 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial lifted its position in American States Water by 3.4% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 8,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Down 0.8 %

AWR opened at $72.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.95 and a 200-day moving average of $81.01.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th.

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.