Redmond Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 4,450 American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 367.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 18,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $75.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.25 and a 200 day moving average of $80.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.17 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. As a group, research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 58.68%.

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.