American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 52-Week Low at $66.22

American States Water (NYSE:AWR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $66.22 and last traded at $66.43, with a volume of 12998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 51.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 0.5% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 22,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American States Water by 1.6% during the first quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American States Water by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of American States Water by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of American States Water by 1.0% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Company Profile

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.