American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Short Interest Up 17.8% in November

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 765,900 shares, a growth of 17.8% from the November 15th total of 649,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 217,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AWR shares. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on American States Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWR. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in American States Water during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 31.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 18,820.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American States Water Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AWR traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $83.96. 27,220 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,191. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.51. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $87.50. 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 (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

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.