Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Purchases Shares of 3,671 American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $343,900,000 after purchasing an additional 132,674 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in American States Water by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 834,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,097,000 after acquiring an additional 3,597 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American States Water in the fourth quarter worth $29,984,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 368,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,628,000 after acquiring an additional 11,867 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 11.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 116,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,403,000 after acquiring an additional 11,801 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

American States Water Stock Up 1.6 %

AWR traded up $1.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.38. The stock had a trading volume of 225,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,424. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.46. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $89.73.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

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

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.