American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Rating Increased to Hold at Freedom Capital

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AWR stock opened at $82.69 on Monday. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $69.45 and a fifty-two week high of $83.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in American States Water by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,657,000 after buying an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 758,452 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 864,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,400,000 after acquiring an additional 75,977 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in American States Water by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,625,000 after purchasing an additional 5,898 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.