American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) recently hit a new 52-week low of $70.03 during trading, with shares last sold at $70.56.
• The company's earnings report showed a quarterly earnings per share of $0.87, missing estimates by $0.05, while revenue was $163.07 million, below the expected $170.64 million.
• Despite the downturn in stock performance, American States Water has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.504, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 61.77%.

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $70.03 and last traded at $70.56, with a volume of 21779 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.95.

American States Water Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.39.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 20.26%.The firm had revenue of $163.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. American States Water's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. American States Water's payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 0.5% in the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,061,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in American States Water by 1.7% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in American States Water by 6.1% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% 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.

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