American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 52-Week Low at $66.22

American States Water (NYSE:AWR)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $66.22 and last traded at $66.43, with a volume of 12998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of American States Water from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

American States Water Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.63.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The company had revenue of $125.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,578.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 633.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1,000.0% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.