California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Announces Earnings Results

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00, Briefing.com reports. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 6.53%. The company had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.40) EPS. California Water Service Group's revenue for the quarter was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.2 %

California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.93. 401,414 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,920. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.85 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.31.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 125.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.25.

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.