Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.30 Million Investment in American States Water Company $AWR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 17,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWR. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in American States Water by 113.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 337.0% during 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AWR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Freedom Capital upgraded American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total value of $50,033.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,212.44. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $99,169.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,846. This 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 owned by company insiders.

American States Water Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $84.80 on Friday. American States Water Company has a 1 year low of $69.45 and a 1 year high of $85.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.12 and a 200 day moving average of $75.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $169.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.504 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.