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

by · The Cerbat Gem

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.26, FiscalAI reports. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $265.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.10 million.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.68. 294,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 344,976. 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 has a 52-week low of $41.29 and a 52-week high of $51.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.52%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $144,602,000 after acquiring an additional 36,296 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,595,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on California Water Service Group

About California Water Service Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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