American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Short Interest Down 8.7% in December

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 705,700 shares, a decline of 8.7% from the December 15th total of 773,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 204,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

American States Water Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $74.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.44 and a 200-day moving average of $81.24. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $87.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 172.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after buying an additional 49,851 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 16.1% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,389,000 after buying an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 110.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 11,197 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 31.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 72,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,056,000 after buying an additional 17,295 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on American States Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company.

American States Water Company Profile

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.