American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Free Report)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.73 and last traded at $85.68, with a volume of 26066 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on AWR

American States Water Stock Up 2.7 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.28 and its 200 day moving average is $76.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 64.81%.

Insider Activity

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,115,801.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning lifted its stake in American States Water by 3.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 112.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 11,614 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in American States Water by 21.1% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 99,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,252,000 after buying an additional 17,287 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in American States Water by 33.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American States Water

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading