California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05), Zacks reports. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.49 on Friday, reaching $45.45. 435,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,983. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 34.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.