American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $85.63 and last traded at $83.1660, with a volume of 368303 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AWR. Zacks Research lowered shares of American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Up 0.0%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.24 and its 200-day moving average is $75.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.59.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.01). American States Water had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $169.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American States Water Company will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.504 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. American States Water’s payout ratio is 58.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $50,033.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,418 shares in the company, valued at $2,979,212.44. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total value of $99,169.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,846. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About American States Water

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.