American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $74.86 and traded as high as $79.30. American States Water shares last traded at $76.7880, with a volume of 647,312 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American States Water in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research downgraded American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.60.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 19.66%.The company had revenue of $169.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.504 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In related news, SVP Paul J. Rowley sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.05, for a total transaction of $99,169.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,846. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total value of $50,033.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,212.44. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,550,000 after acquiring an additional 20,510 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in American States Water by 206.4% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 78,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,756,000 after acquiring an additional 52,885 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in American States Water in the fourth quarter worth $2,379,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American States Water by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,975,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $360,657,000 after acquiring an additional 118,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in American States Water by 23.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,696,000 after acquiring an additional 62,341 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.