American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Raised to Buy at Freedom Broker

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) was upgraded by Freedom Broker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $99.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $89.00. Freedom Broker‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.02% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American States Water in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.00.

American States Water Price Performance

AWR stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.98. 286,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,697. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $85.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.54. American States Water has a fifty-two week low of $69.50 and a fifty-two week high of $91.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $192.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.98 million. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 20.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American States Water will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anne Holloway sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWR. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of American States Water by 1.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of American States Water by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American States Water

American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) is a water and utility services company that provides regulated water and electric services, as well as contracted operations and maintenance services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers through its operating subsidiaries.

Through Golden State Water Company, American States Water supplies water to communities primarily in California. Its Bear Valley Electric Service subsidiary provides electric distribution service in the Big Bear area of San Bernardino County, California.