American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $82.08 and traded as high as $84.66. American States Water shares last traded at $82.5930, with a volume of 267,110 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AWR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Freedom Capital raised shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.09.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.5455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5040. American States Water’s payout ratio is 59.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Anne 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American States Water

American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR) is a holding company that provides regulated water and electric utility services, as well as water and wastewater operations for military installations. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers through its subsidiaries.

Golden State Water Company operates regulated water systems in California, supplying drinking water and related services to communities across the state. Bear Valley Electric Service provides regulated electric distribution service in the mountain communities of California’s San Bernardino County.

Through American States Utility Services, Inc, the company operates and maintains water and wastewater systems at U.S.