California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.34

Key Points

• California Water Service Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, payable November 20 to shareholders of record on November 9. The dividend equates to $1.34 annually and a 2.8% yield.
• The company has raised its dividend for 59 consecutive years, with a 52.5% payout ratio; analysts expect future earnings to continue covering the annual dividend.
• CWT shares opened at $47.09, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $51.50. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $1.05 missed estimates by $0.11.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3350 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, November 20th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th.

California Water Service Group has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 59 consecutive years. California Water Service Group has a payout ratio of 52.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect California Water Service Group to earn $2.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.3%.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $47.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.48. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $53.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.11). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $332.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.17 million. As a group, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Freedom Broker assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.50.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT is a holding company that provides water utility services through its regulated operating subsidiaries. The company supplies clean water for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers, and its operations include the production, treatment, storage, distribution and delivery of water. Some of its subsidiaries also provide wastewater collection and treatment services.

The company's principal subsidiary, California Water Service Company, serves communities throughout California.

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