American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

American States Water (NYSE:AWR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.73 and last traded at $85.68, with a volume of 26066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $155.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.81%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in American States Water by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in American States Water during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 702.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 193.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

About American States Water

American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, provides water and electric services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Water, Electric, and Contracted Services. The company purchases, produces, distributes, and sells water, as well as distributes electricity.