American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $85.63 and last traded at $83.1660, with a volume of 368303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AWR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research report on Monday, April 20th. 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. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, American States Water has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Up 0.4%

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 firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.91.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.02 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 19.66%.American States Water’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $50,033.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,979,212.44. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of American States Water 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,846. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWR. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in American States Water by 113.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in American States Water in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 337.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in 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.