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

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.335 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, August 21st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th.

California Water Service Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 59 consecutive years. California Water Service Group has a payout ratio of 52.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect California Water Service Group to earn $2.74 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 48.9%.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $51.63 on Thursday. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 11.77%.The company had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,030,756.50. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,346,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,322,000 after acquiring an additional 34,155 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,825,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,094,000 after purchasing an additional 60,931 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth $1,927,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,197,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,357,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.