Insider Selling: American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Director Sells $79,974.00 in Stock

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,422,709.48. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

American States Water Stock Down 0.5%

AWR opened at $88.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.71 and a 200-day moving average of $78.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $69.45 and a 1-year high of $90.42.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.72 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. American States Water’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.5455 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. American States Water’s payout ratio is presently 59.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American States Water

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WorthPointe LLC bought a new position in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter worth about $387,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in American States Water in the second quarter valued at about $302,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in American States Water by 43,100.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in American States Water by 6.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.