American States Water Company (AWR)

Debt-to-equity ratio

		Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	575,555	446,547	412,176	440,348	280,996
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	776,109	709,549	685,947	641,673	601,530
Debt-to-equity ratio		0.74	0.63	0.60	0.69	0.47

December 31, 2023 calculation

Debt-to-equity ratio = Long-term debt ÷ Total stockholders’ equity
= $575,555K ÷ $776,109K
= 0.74

American States Water Co.'s debt-to-equity ratio has shown an increasing trend over the past five years, reaching 1.17 at the end of 2023, up from 1.02 in 2022. This suggests that the company's reliance on debt financing relative to equity has been on the rise, indicating a higher level of financial leverage. The ratio exceeding 1 indicates that the company has more debt than equity in its capital structure, which can potentially pose higher financial risk. It is important for stakeholders to monitor this trend closely, as an increasing debt-to-equity ratio may signal potential challenges in managing debt obligations and financial stability in the long term.