American States Water Crushes Earnings Estimates

American States Water (NYSE: AWR  ) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), American States Water beat expectations on revenue and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.

Gross margin dropped, operating margin expanded, and net margin expanded.

Revenue details
American States Water recorded revenue of $106.6 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $98.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $94.3 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.53. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.39 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.53 for Q1 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.40 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.03 per share in earnings from discontinued operations).

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 58.1%, 790 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.9%, 280 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.5%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $111.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.65.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $432.6 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.24.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 124 members out of 130 rating the stock outperform, and six members rating it underperform. Among 31 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 30 give American States Water a green thumbs-up, and one gives it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American States Water is outperform, with an average price target of $41.00.

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