American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Down 4.9% – What’s Next?

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR)’s stock price fell 4.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $76.58 and last traded at $75.5870. 67,029 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 254,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.00.

American States Water Stock Down 4.9%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.06. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 19.82%.The firm had revenue of $164.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.82 million. As a group, analysts forecast that American States Water Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.504 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of American States Water by 610.5% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of American States Water by 113.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.