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

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

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CWT traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.03. 92,451 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,894. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52. 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 has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.65.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 34.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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