American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR stock opened at $85.48 on Wednesday. American States Water has a twelve month low of $66.03 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $161.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in American States Water by 31.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of American States Water by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in American States Water by 3.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in American States Water by 9.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

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.