California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.30 Per Share

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

California Water Service Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 23 consecutive years. California Water Service Group has a dividend payout ratio of 43.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Trading Up 0.3 %

California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.73. 300,879 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,157. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.74.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.