American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• American States Water (NYSE:AWR) moved above its 200-day moving average, trading as high as $77.64 and last changing hands around $76.30, suggesting recent momentum in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: Zacks Research upgraded the stock to strong-buy, while MarketBeat data shows an overall Buy average rating.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.76 missing estimates by a penny but revenue of $169.19 million beating expectations; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.504 per share, yielding about 2.6%.

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $74.65 and traded as high as $77.64. American States Water shares last traded at $76.3040, with a volume of 247,354 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AWR. Zacks Research upgraded American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American States Water currently has an average rating of "Buy".

American States Water Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.60.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $157.02 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The firm's revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.504 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.89%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 39,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,979,212.44. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total value of $99,169.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,846. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AWR. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in American States Water by 128.8% in the fourth 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American States Water by 55.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 720,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,847,000 after purchasing an additional 258,388 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in American States Water by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 738,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,495,000 after purchasing an additional 164,559 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in American States Water by 512.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 187,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,780,000 after purchasing an additional 157,276 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in American States Water by 632.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 153,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,157,000 after purchasing an additional 132,929 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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