American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AWR opened at $86.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.49. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $66.03 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.94.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. American States Water’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 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 Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.63%.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWR. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American States Water in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of American States Water by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 18,820.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in American States Water in the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. Hedge funds and other 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.