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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for American States Water (AWR). Shares have lost about 2.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is American States Water due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
American States Water Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
American States Water Company reported third-quarter 2024 operating earnings per share (EPS) of 95 cents, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 99 cents by 4%.
AWR’s Total Revenues
Operating revenues came in at $161.8 million, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $161 million by 0.5%. The top line also rose 6.6% from $151.7 million reported in the prior-year period.
Highlights of AWR’s Release
Operating expenses in the quarter totaled $106.7 million, up 6.8% from the year-ago quarter’s $99.9 million. This was due to higher water purchased for pumping expenses, administrative and general costs and other operation costs.
The operating income totaled $55.1 million, up 6.4% from $51.8 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.
Interest expenses amounted to $13.2 million, up 13.1% year over year. Interest income totaled $1.7 million, down 18.2% year over year.
AWR’s Segmental Details
Earnings from the Water segment came in at 84 cents per share, up 16.7% from 72 cents a year ago.
EPS from the Electric segment was 2 cents, down by 2 cents from the year-ago quarter’s level.
EPS from the Contracted Services segment was 11 cents, down 8.3% year over year.
The loss from AWR (Parent) was 2 cents per share, in line with the year-ago quarter’s loss.
AWR’s Financial Update
As of Sept. 30, AWR’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $16.5 million compared with $14.1 million as of Dec. 31, 2023.
As of Sept. 30, the company’s long-term debt was $640.2 million compared with $575.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2023.
In the first nine months of 2024, cash provided by operating activities totaled $134.2 million compared with $56.5 million in the year-ago period.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, fresh estimates have trended upward during the past month.
The consensus estimate has shifted 5.36% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, American States Water has an average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for this investment strategy.