Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,300 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. State Street Corp lifted its stake in American States Water by 16.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,572,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $291,218,000 after purchasing an additional 507,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,951,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of American States Water by 929.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 177,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,447,000 after acquiring an additional 160,437 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG increased its position in shares of American States Water by 74.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 362,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,539,000 after buying an additional 155,180 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 21.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,589,000 after buying an additional 153,409 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $67.11 on Thursday. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $92.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

American States Water Company 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.