Insider Buying: American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Director Acquires 527 Shares of Stock

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway bought 527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $75.92 per share, for a total transaction of $40,009.84. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 40,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,042,873.60. This represents a 1.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

American States Water Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AWR traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.48. 181,817 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 342,124. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. American States Water Company has a 12 month low of $69.45 and a 12 month high of $81.24.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.02 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 58.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AWR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of American States Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American States Water by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,657,000 after acquiring an additional 118,702 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in American States Water by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 758,452 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American States Water by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in American States Water by 9.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 864,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,400,000 after acquiring an additional 75,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in American States Water by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,625,000 after buying an additional 5,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.