California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Increases Dividend to $0.30 Per Share

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28.

California Water Service Group has increased its dividend by an average of 6.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 23 years. California Water Service Group has a payout ratio of 43.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect California Water Service Group to earn $2.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.3%.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.73. 300,879 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,157. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

About California Water Service Group

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.