Norges Bank Takes $45.25 Million Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 582,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,254,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.55% of American States Water as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 172.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in American States Water by 400.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 192.4% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 4,769 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American States Water Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of American States Water stock opened at $78.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.47. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.