California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.28 EPS

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28, Briefing.com reports. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.14. The company had a trading volume of 299,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,557. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 0.47. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $55.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.24.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total value of $29,559.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,916.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total value of $29,559.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,241,916.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,764 shares of company stock worth $141,785. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

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.