Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 1,129 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in American States Water were worth $1,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in American States Water by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of American States Water by 400.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 332.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American States Water by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $76.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. American States Water has a 12-month low of $66.03 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.29.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $143.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.17 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. Research analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut American States Water from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

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.