American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $84.32 and last traded at $83.30, with a volume of 416763 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $82.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AWR. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Stock Up 0.8%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.48.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.01). The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.504 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 58.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total transaction of $99,169.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares in the company, valued at $495,846. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $50,033.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,979,212.44. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 118,702 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of American States Water by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,347,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 758,452 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American States Water by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 907,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 75,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of American States Water by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,625,000 after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Company Profile

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.