American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Posts Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $135.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.00 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 13.54%. American States Water’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share.

American States Water Stock Performance

American States Water stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.63. The company had a trading volume of 31,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,213. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.09 and a 200-day moving average of $75.89. American States Water has a 52 week low of $66.03 and a 52 week high of $92.85.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American States Water from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, with a total value of $99,694.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at $416,578.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% 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.