American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $91.11 and last traded at $90.9930, with a volume of 215341 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American States Water has an average rating of "Hold".

American States Water Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%.The firm had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.5455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. American States Water's payout ratio is 59.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American States Water by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in American States Water by 6.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,943,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in American States Water by 768.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 4,160 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American States Water by 9.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 284,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,394,000 after buying an additional 25,333 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in American States Water by 2,606.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,059,000 after buying an additional 86,402 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source