American States Water Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.43 (NYSE:AWR)

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.43 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%.

American States Water has increased its dividend by an average of 8.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 70 years. American States Water has a dividend payout ratio of 52.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Down 0.4 %

AWR stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.78. 277,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,564. The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.80 and its 200 day moving average is $75.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.43. 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 has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $92.85.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $135.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.00 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. American States Water's quarterly revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate 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.