NFJ Investment Group LLC Reduces Holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,322 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.11% of American States Water worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AWR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in American States Water by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,389,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 450,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,714,000 after purchasing an additional 24,042 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 205.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,974,000 after purchasing an additional 296,361 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,873,000 after buying an additional 13,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American States Water by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,815,000 after buying an additional 197,556 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Trading Down 2.0 %

American States Water stock opened at $84.07 on Wednesday. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.51.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

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.