American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $84.32 and last traded at $83.30, with a volume of 416763 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AWR. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Freedom Capital raised shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American States Water presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.48.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $169.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.02 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 19.66%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is 58.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total value of $99,169.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,846. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $50,033.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,418 shares in the company, valued at $2,979,212.44. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in American States Water by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Company Profile

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.