American States Water Company
AWR
reported fourth-quarter 2021 operating earnings per share (EPS) of 55 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 50 cents by 10%. The bottom line also improved 1.9% from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 54 cents per share.
American States Water reported operating EPS of $2.55 in 2021, up 9.4% from $2.33 in 2020, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.48 by 3%.
Total Revenues
Operating revenues of $116.6 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $126 million by 7.5%. The top line narrowed 6.1% from $124.2 million in the prior-year quarter.
American States Water reported total revenues of $498.9 million in 2021, up 2.2% from $488.2 million in 2020, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $508 million by 1.8%
American States Water Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
American States Water Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart
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American States Water Company Quote
Operational Update
American States Water’s total operating expenses for the fourth quarter amounted to $87 million, down 8.4% from the year-ago quarter’s $95 million. This can primarily be attributed to a decrease in water purchased, groundwater production assessment and power purchased for resale expenses.
Operating income was $30 million, up 2.4% from the year-ago figure of $29.3 million.
Interest expenses were $5 million, down 0.14% year over year. Interest income was $0.4 million, down 18.3% from the prior-year quarter’s level.
Segment Details
Earnings in the Water segment were 36 cents per share, up 13% from 32 cents in the prior-year quarter. This upside was mainly driven by a higher water gross margin, resulting from new rates authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Earnings in the Electric segment of 7 cents per share were on par with the year-ago quarter’s reading as higher operating revenues were offset by increased operating expenses.
Earnings in the Contracted Services segment were 13 cents per share, down 24% from 17 cents in the year-ago quarter due to a decline in the timely construction activity.
Financial Update
As of Dec 31, 2021, AWR’s cash and cash equivalents were $4.9 million compared with $36.7 million as of Dec 31, 2020.
As of Dec 31, 2021, American States Water’s long-term debt was $412.2 million, down from $440.3 million as of Dec 31, 2020.
Zacks Rank
American States Water currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Upcoming Releases
California Water Service Group
CWT
is slated to report fourth-quarter 2021 earnings on Feb 24 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth quarter’s EPS is pegged at 20 cents.
California Water Service has a current dividend yield of 1.7%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s yield of 1.45%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CWT’s 2021 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 0.5%.
Global Water Resources Inc.
GWRS
is slated to report fourth-quarter 2021 earnings on Mar 10 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth quarter’s EPS is pegged at 1 cent.
Global Water Resources’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is currently pegged at 15%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GWRS’ 2022 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 6.7%.
Consolidated Water Company Ltd.
CWCO
is slated to report fourth-quarter 2021 earnings on Mar 30 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth quarter’s EPS is pegged at 7 cents.
Consolidated Water’s long-term earnings growth is currently pegged at 8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CWCO’s 2022 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 76.5%.
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