American States Water: 69 Years of Dividend Growth and Now Undervalued
The article mentions American States Water (NYSE:AWR) as the stock being discussed. The author gives a recommendation to buy the stock, stating that it is priced at a buyable valuation for dividend growth investors.
The author's core argument is that American States Water has a strong dividend growth streak, with the longest established dividend growth streak among the Dividend Kings. The company's fundamentals, such as its dividend growth rate and earnings per share, are highlighted as positive indicators. The author also mentions the company's strong operational performance in 2023.
Key information and data include the company's annual dividend growth rate of 8.2% over the last 10 years, its anticipated diluted EPS of $2.77 in 2023, and its projected annual earnings growth rate of 14% over the next three to five years. The article also discusses the risks associated with investing in American States Water, such as potential adverse decisions from regulators and the impact of interest rates on the stock's performance.
The author provides two valuation models, the discounted cash flows (DCF) model and the dividend discount model (DDM), to estimate the fair value of AWR's shares. According to these models, the stock is currently trading at a discount to its fair value and offers potential upside for investors.