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

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $632,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in American States Water by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 19,391 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American States Water during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in American States Water by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 10,538 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in American States Water by 104.3% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 19,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 9,889 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $85.02 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $66.03 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.65. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $161.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 62.63%.

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.