American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Raised to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $87.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00.

American States Water Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $85.38 on Wednesday. American States Water has a 1-year low of $66.03 and a 1-year high of $89.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.82.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. The firm had revenue of $135.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Mary Ann Hopkins purchased 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.53 per share, for a total transaction of $40,056.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,937.18. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 640 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.62 per share, with a total value of $49,676.80. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $543,805.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Hopkins acquired 560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.53 per share, with a total value of $40,056.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,937.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in American States Water by 2.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 62,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,536,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in American States Water by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 141,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,268,000 after buying an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in American States Water by 9.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.