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. 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 2.74%. 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 raised its dividend by an average of 6.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 24 years. California Water Service Group has a dividend payout ratio of 46.9% meaning 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 $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.7%.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $43.86 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.57 and its 200-day moving average is $50.39.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CWT shares. 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 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

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.