American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Announces Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62, Briefing.com reports. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $135.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis.

American States Water Stock Down 0.4 %

AWR opened at $73.78 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $70.85 and its 200-day moving average is $75.87. American States Water has a one year low of $66.03 and a one year high of $92.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.24.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. American States Water's payout ratio is 51.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, with a total value of $99,694.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.