California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.17), Zacks reports. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 13.61%.The business had revenue of $265.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $46.68 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.54. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $51.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.64.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.335 dividend. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,602,000 after purchasing an additional 36,296 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 954,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,347,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,595,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.