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References in this report to Registrant are to AWR and GSWC, collectively, unless otherwise specified. GSWC makes no representations as to the information contained in this report relating to AWR and its subsidiaries, other than GSWC.
$89.28
+$1.35 (+1.54%)
EOD Jul 17, 2026
30.89% operating margin is above average. ROIC at 9.27%. Note that capital returns lag the margin, the business may be capital-intensive despite high margins.
Revenue grew 10.5%, still solid.
At 26x earnings, the current multiple leaves limited room for execution misses or growth deceleration. Negative free cash flow of -$7M. The business is consuming cash, not generating it.
26.0x earnings, 92.1x FCF. Not cheap, the quality is already reflected in the price. Upside from here requires either margin expansion or growth re-acceleration, not just continuation.
Based on TTM earnings · Diluted shares
Profitability & Returns
Revenue (TTM)
$679M
▲ +10.5% YoY
Net Income (TTM)
$134M
▲ +9.4% YoY
Op. Margin
30.78%
ROIC
9.25%
▼ -0.7pp YoY
Cash Flow & Balance Sheet
FCF (TTM)
$38M
▲ +78.7% YoY
Op. Cash Flow (TTM)
$256M
▲ +15.6% YoY
Net Debt
$768M
Cash & Equiv.
$22M
5Y CAGR: +6.2%
Continue Research
At a P/E of 26.0 and a price-to-free-cash-flow of 92.1, American States Water (AWR) trades above a two-stage DCF intrinsic value of about $4.54 per share, so at $89.28 the stock looks overvalued (94.9% above estimated intrinsic value). A high multiple is not the same as overvalued: fast-growing, high-quality businesses can deserve a premium. See the general approach in how to tell if a stock is overvalued.
On quality, American States Water scores 51/100 on Intrinsiqq's quality scorecard (a mixed business on these measures), weighing growth, margins, returns on capital, share count, and balance-sheet strength. It currently yields about 2.2%; see dividend safety for coverage and history. All figures are computed from SEC filings; read the full methodology. This is analysis, not investment advice.
Intrinsiqq's two-stage DCF estimates an intrinsic value of about $4.54 per share for AWR, projecting its recent free cash flow forward with a growth rate that fades toward a long-run rate and discounting it back to today. Applying a 25% margin of safety gives a more conservative fair-value entry around $3.41. At today's $89.28, that puts the stock about 94.9% above estimated intrinsic value. The result is sensitive to the growth and discount-rate inputs, so it is best to run conservative, base and optimistic cases. You can adjust all of them yourself with the sliders on the DCF tab.
American States Water scores 51 out of 100 on Intrinsiqq's quality score, a weighted blend of 7 metrics each scored 0 to 100, which makes it a mixed business on these measures. Recent fundamentals include a 30.8% operating margin and a 9.3% return on invested capital. The score weighs revenue and free-cash-flow growth, operating margins, return on invested capital, share-count change, and balance-sheet strength, all computed from SEC filings, not opinion. Because valuation only means something relative to quality, the full metric-by-metric breakdown is on the quality scorecard.
Yes, American States Water pays a regular dividend of about $1.95 per share per year (typically in quarterly installments), a yield of roughly 2.2% at the current price. That is a payout ratio of about 57.4% of earnings, so the dividend is well covered. American States Water has grown the dividend at roughly 9.6% a year over the past few years. A low headline yield is not the same as a weak dividend: what matters is how well earnings and free cash flow cover the payout and whether it is growing, not the percentage alone. For AWR's full payout history, growth streak and dividend-safety score, see the dividends tab.
That depends on valuation and quality together, not either alone. AWR currently trades above its estimated intrinsic value and scores 51/100 on quality (mixed). It also yields about 2.2%. A cheap price is only a bargain if the business is durable, and a premium can be justified by genuine quality, so the two questions, "is it cheap?" and "is it good?", only make sense side by side. Read the valuation against the quality scorecard, run the DCF on your own assumptions, and decide for yourself. This is analysis from SEC filings, not investment advice.