StockNews.com Lowers American States Water (NYSE:AWR) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

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 Price Performance

NYSE:AWR opened at $82.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.17. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $87.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.46.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The business had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.4655 dividend. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of American States Water

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in American States Water in the 1st quarter worth approximately $632,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of American States Water by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 95,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,671,000 after acquiring an additional 21,270 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American States Water during the first quarter valued at $533,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in American States Water by 859.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 21,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in American States Water by 104.3% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 19,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 9,889 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.