American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.43

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.43 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th.

American States Water has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 70 consecutive years. American States Water has a payout ratio of 52.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect American States Water to earn $3.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.1%.

American States Water Stock Performance

NYSE AWR opened at $76.53 on Thursday. American States Water has a 52-week low of $66.03 and a 52-week high of $92.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.96 and a 200-day moving average of $75.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.24.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $135.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at American States Water

In related news, Director Thomas A. Eichelberger purchased 1,400 shares of American States Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,694.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,850 shares in the company, valued at $416,578.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.