American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Raises Dividend to $0.47 Per Share

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 30th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of 0.4655 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.

American States Water has increased its dividend by an average of 8.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 70 consecutive years. American States Water has a payout ratio of 52.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect American States Water to earn $3.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.1%.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE:AWR traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $84.03. 235,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 225,302. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.64. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $89.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.46.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 19.95%. The company had revenue of $135.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. American States Water’s quarterly revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In related news, Director Mary Ann Hopkins purchased 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.53 per share, for a total transaction of $40,056.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,937.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mary Ann Hopkins purchased 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.53 per share, for a total transaction of $40,056.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,937.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.62 per share, for a total transaction of $49,676.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,805.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

About American States Water

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.