Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 714 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AWR. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,824,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in American States Water by 6.5% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 44,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in American States Water by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 143.9% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,491 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 4,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Price Performance

American States Water stock opened at $69.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.22. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $92.85.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.04%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.