American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $85.73 and last traded at $85.68, with a volume of 26066 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of American States Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American States Water Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.85.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.02). American States Water had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $155.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from American States Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. American States Water's payout ratio is 64.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 500 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $40,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,115,801.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWR. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American States Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of American States Water by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the second quarter worth $80,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in American States Water by 702.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in American States Water by 193.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,630 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. 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.