American States Water Company’s AWR planned investments in strengthening its aging water infrastructure along with a sturdy utility customer base and consistent contribution from its American States Utility Services (ASUS) unit support its operations.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 and 2022 earnings is pegged at $2.48 and $2.59 per share each, indicating respective growth of 6.44% and 4.44% from the corresponding year-ago reported figures. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.35%, on average.What’s Aiding the Stock?The company invested $75 million in the first two quarters of 2021and plans to spend in the range of $125-$135 million for the year toward regulated utilities. In July 2020, Golden State Water Company (GSWC) filed a general rate case application for all the water regions and also applied for new rates at the general office for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024.The new application includes capital budget requests of $450.6 million for the 2021-2024 time period and another $11.4 million worth of capital projects will be filed for revenue recovery once those projects are completed. Along with American States Water Company, other water utilities are investing heavily in their infrastructure for maintenance, upgrade and enhancement. These include Middlesex Water MSEX, American Water Works AWK and California Water Service CWT.Moreover, the company has a solid customer base and is adding electricity and water utility customers at a slow but steady pace through acquisitions and organic means. American States Water Company’s Water segment is a major contributor to its total revenues.ASUS has long-term contracts with military bases, which are 50-year fixed-price deals. Prices are determined by the military outfits. The long-term defense contracts lend stability to the company’s earnings. This unit is expected to contribute 45-49 cents per share to its current-year earnings.HeadwindsAmerican States Water Company’s dependence on a single state (California) for recognizing a significant chunk of its earnings is a huge downside. Also, the company operates in a highly regulated environment and any changes in the existing laws and conditions could affect its business. Further, the aging water infrastructure and the risk of contamination of groundwater could adversely impact its operations. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it's poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK): Free Stock Analysis Report California Water Service Group (CWT): Free Stock Analysis Report American States Water Company (AWR): Free Stock Analysis Report Middlesex Water Company (MSEX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.