BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 158,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,122 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in American States Water were worth $13,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 86.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American States Water by 11.9% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter valued at $496,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $85.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research 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 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.