American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $90.21 and last traded at $89.2710, with a volume of 17240 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research downgraded American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.57.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The firm had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. American States Water’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.5455 dividend. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 23.7% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in American States Water by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in American States Water by 768.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,160 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in American States Water by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 284,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,394,000 after purchasing an additional 25,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 2,606.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,059,000 after purchasing an additional 86,402 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American States Water

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.