American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway Sells 900 Shares

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

American States Water Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of American States Water stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $89.43. 180,287 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,425. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.62. American States Water Company has a twelve month low of $69.45 and a twelve month high of $90.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.5455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. American States Water’s payout ratio is 59.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in American States Water by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,550,000 after purchasing an additional 20,510 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $2,379,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,657,000 after buying an additional 118,702 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 632.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 153,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,157,000 after acquiring an additional 132,929 shares during the period. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 60.8% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 126,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,545,000 after acquiring an additional 47,725 shares during the period. 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.