California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) to Issue Dividend Increase – $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 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 dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change 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% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 23 years. California Water Service Group has a payout ratio of 43.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $44.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.70. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

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

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.