American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $70.12

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $70.12 and last traded at $70.19, with a volume of 43434 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

American States Water Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $132.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.04%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 633.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in American States Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in American States Water in the 4th quarter worth about $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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.