California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.05 EPS

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE CWT traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.03. 92,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,894. 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 cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.65.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 34.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.