American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $66.22

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $66.22 and last traded at $66.43, with a volume of 12998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $132.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. American States Water's payout ratio is presently 51.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.21 per share, with a total value of $99,694.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 22,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in American States Water by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in American States Water by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in American States Water by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.