American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 52-Week Low at $66.22

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $66.22 and last traded at $66.43, with a volume of 12998 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Trading Down 1.1 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.04%.

Insider Activity at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $534,000. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in American States Water by 9.5% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 78,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,697,000 after purchasing an additional 6,870 shares in the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of American States Water by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.