American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker upgraded shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has $99.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $89.00.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on American States Water

American States Water Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:AWR traded up $1.15 on Friday, hitting $89.98. The stock had a trading volume of 286,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,738. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. American States Water has a 52 week low of $69.50 and a 52 week high of $91.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.09 and its 200 day moving average is $80.40. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.54.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The firm had revenue of $192.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.5455 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 59.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American States Water news, Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American States Water

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $602,749,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 836,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,225,000 after acquiring an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,337,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in American States Water during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,870,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 2.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 188,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Key American States Water News

Here are the key news stories impacting American States Water this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker raised its rating on AWR from “hold” to “buy” and increased its price target to $99 from $89, implying about 10% upside from the cited share price. Tickerreport article
  • Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 5.4% year over year, and the earnings coverage highlighted rate increases, investment in the business and dividend growth as notable factors. Zacks article
  • Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS of $1.06 missed the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue of $192.54 million was below analyst expectations of $195.98 million. Higher costs offset revenue growth, weighing on the earnings report. Zacks article

American States Water Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) is a water and utility services company that provides regulated water and electric services, as well as contracted operations and maintenance services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers through its operating subsidiaries.

Through Golden State Water Company, American States Water supplies water to communities primarily in California. Its Bear Valley Electric Service subsidiary provides electric distribution service in the Big Bear area of San Bernardino County, California.

Further Reading

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