If you want to know how durable a dividend can be, start here: American States Water (NYSE: AWR) has increased its payout for 71 consecutive years — the longest streak of any company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That number alone gets it a mention in every dividend article. What those articles usually miss is the part of the business that actually diversifies it away from the California regulator: a portfolio of 50-year water contracts on U.S. military bases.
The numbers as of mid-July 2026
| Metric | Reading (Jul 16, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Share price | ~$85.69 |
| Market cap | ~$3.36B |
| Dividend / yield | ~$2.02 / ~2.35% |
| Dividend streak | 71 years (longest on the NYSE) |
| 5-yr dividend CAGR | ~8.5% |
| P/E (trailing / forward) | ~25 / ~23 |
| Q1 26 EPS | $0.76 (+8.6%, beat) |
Unlike its peer Cal Water, AWR's most recent quarter was clean: Q1 EPS rose 8.6% to $0.76 on revenue of $169.2 million, both ahead of estimates, driven by new CPUC-approved rate increases and higher construction activity at the contracted-services arm. Management guides to $3.68 EPS in 2026 and $3.82 in 2027.
The three-legged stool
Most water utilities have one earnings engine: a regulated rate base. AWR has three.
- Golden State Water — regulated California water, the core rate-base compounder (rate base ~$1.67 billion, allowed ROE ~10.06%).
- Bear Valley Electric — a small regulated electric utility, a second regulated leg.
- American States Utility Services (ASUS) — 50-year privatized contracts to run water and wastewater systems on military bases across roughly 11 states.
That third leg is the overlooked one. ASUS is a government-counterparty, inflation-indexed cash flow that grows as AWR wins new base awards and invests capital into them — and it doesn't depend on the California PUC. In a sector where the entire bull case usually rests on one regulator's goodwill, that diversification is worth more than the market gives it credit for.
Demand, the dividend, and how you'd own it
The core engine is the same rate-base math as any water utility: a ~$1.67 billion rate base growing on $185–225 million of annual capex, earning ~10%, funding mid-to-high-single-digit earnings and dividend growth. That's the mechanical basis for 71 years of raises and a ~8.5% five-year dividend growth rate — one of the faster-growing payouts among water utilities. You own AWR as the premium dividend-growth sleeve: lower current yield than Cal Water, but a longer streak and a diversified, partly government-backed cash-flow base.
The risk: you're paying full price
Here's the honest problem. AWR trades at ~$85.69, essentially at its 52-week high, on ~25x trailing earnings and a ~2.35% yield — while the analyst consensus price target sits around $76.50, implying downside. The quality is not in question; the price is. As a bond-proxy, it's exposed to rising long rates, and California concentration plus electric-segment wildfire liability are real state-specific tails. When you buy the best dividend-growth story in the sector at the top of its range, you're accepting a lower forward return for that certainty.
My take
American States Water is a genuinely superior utility — three earnings legs, the longest dividend streak on the exchange, and a hidden military-contract engine that peers can't replicate. I'd want to own it. I just wouldn't pay up at a fresh high with the Street's own target below the price. This is a name to keep on the list and buy on weakness, when a rate scare or market wobble finally offers the quality at a fair price. Patience is the whole trade here.
Bottom line: AWR is the highest-pedigree dividend compounder in water — 71 years of raises, three regulated/contracted earnings legs, and an underappreciated military-base business — but it's priced for perfection near its highs. Superb company, demanding entry point: wait for the dip.
Not investment advice.