American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

American States Water Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.06. The stock 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. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.01). American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Martin Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in American States Water by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 13.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 29.1% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,513,000 after buying an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 114.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 46,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 24,676 shares during the last quarter. 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.