Legato Capital Management LLC Takes Position in American States Water Company $AWR

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 9,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AWR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 6.2% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in American States Water by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in American States Water by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in American States Water by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American States Water Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AWR stock opened at $76.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.41 and a 200-day moving average of $74.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. American States Water Company has a 12-month low of $69.45 and a 12-month high of $81.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.60.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.89%.

About American States Water

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.