American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the three research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.50.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of American States Water from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American States Water from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American States Water in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $84.81 per share, for a total transaction of $84,810.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,424.88. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in American States Water by 2.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 45,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 36,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,264,000 after buying an additional 8,078 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 25,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,297,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,735,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.67% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Down 1.1 %

AWR stock opened at $82.75 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. American States Water has a 1 year low of $77.91 and a 1 year high of $100.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $157.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.24% and a return on equity of 13.10%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American States Water will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.43%.

American States Water Company Profile

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.