CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American States Water by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,760,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $343,900,000 after buying an additional 132,674 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 buying an additional 6,372 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in American States Water by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 450,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,714,000 after buying an additional 24,042 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in American States Water by 205.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 440,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,974,000 after buying an additional 296,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in American States Water by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,873,000 after buying an additional 13,276 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AWR opened at $85.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.65. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. American States Water’s payout ratio is currently 62.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AWR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

American States Water 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.