MGB Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

MGB Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 6.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American States Water were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in American States Water by 18.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 19,391 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water during the first quarter worth $533,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in American States Water by 63.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 10,538 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in American States Water by 104.3% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 19,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 9,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,760,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $343,900,000 after purchasing an additional 132,674 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

American States Water Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $85.03 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

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.