Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Shares in American States Water Company $AWR

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 228,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,870,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.58% of American States Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWR. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,583,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth about $1,898,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth approximately $816,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,848,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Performance

Shares of AWR opened at $89.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.57. American States Water Company has a 52-week low of $69.45 and a 52-week high of $91.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.45.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.72 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.5455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AWR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American States Water currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.