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

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $85.63 and last traded at $85.5450, with a volume of 89871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AWR shares. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American States Water from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59.

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

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 58.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total value of $50,033.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 39,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,979,212.44. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total transaction of $99,169.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,846. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American States Water by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,657,000 after purchasing an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in American States Water by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 758,452 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,810,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 2.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,225,000 after buying an additional 16,896 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,625,000 after buying an additional 5,898 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American States Water

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.