American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Upgraded to “Hold” at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AWR. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AWR opened at $82.69 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.41. American States Water has a 12 month low of $69.45 and a 12 month high of $83.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.60.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.01). American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $169.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $50,033.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWR. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 610.5% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 113.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.