California Water Service Group (CWT) to Release Earnings on Thursday

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) will post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect California Water Service Group to post earnings of $0.21 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.98). The business had revenue of $214.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.41 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 6.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts expect California Water Service Group to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

California Water Service Group stock opened at $44.18 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $59.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.14%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 125.84%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Harbour Investments Inc. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded 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. TheStreet downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of California Water Service Group from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

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.