American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, American States Water has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWR opened at $76.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.79 and a 200 day moving average of $74.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. American States Water has a one year low of $69.45 and a one year high of $81.24.

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

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares in the company, valued at $495,846. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,979,212.44. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 610.5% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 113.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.