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

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $1.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.92. 91,950 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 337,925. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $51.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.52 and its 200-day moving average is $45.54.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 58.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,738,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,634,000 after buying an additional 462,394 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,420,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,579,000 after buying an additional 4,613 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 954,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,347,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

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.