Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Buys 1,705 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of American States Water worth $2,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American States Water by 2.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 450,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,714,000 after acquiring an additional 24,042 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,984,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 368,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,628,000 after purchasing an additional 11,867 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,115,801.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWR. StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. 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.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $81.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.81.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.78%.

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.