American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.17, FiscalAI reports. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 19.66%.The business had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.72 million.

American States Water Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of American States Water stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.75. 247,773 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,534. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. American States Water has a 52-week low of $69.45 and a 52-week high of $90.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.59.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.5455 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.89%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of American States Water

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 5.6% during 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. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American States Water by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in American States Water by 0.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in American States Water by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AWR shares. Zacks Research cut shares of American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

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.