California Water Service Group to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.28 (NYSE:CWT)

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of 0.28 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th.

California Water Service Group has raised its dividend by an average of 7.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 58 consecutive years. California Water Service Group has a payout ratio of 47.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect California Water Service Group to earn $2.38 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 47.1%.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:CWT traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.27. 110,927 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,703. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.56 and its 200-day moving average is $51.44. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.67.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $30,153.15. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,222,750.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,665 shares of company stock valued at $90,093 over the last quarter. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.