9,432 Shares in American States Water Company $AWR Bought by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. State of Wyoming bought a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in American States Water by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in American States Water by 113.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American States Water by 337.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE AWR opened at $76.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.58. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $69.45 and a twelve month high of $81.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.60.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.01). American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $169.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $50,033.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,979,212.44. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total transaction of $99,169.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,846. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AWR shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

American States Water Company Profile

American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR), founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.