California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $51.02 and last traded at $50.64, with a volume of 487261 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.47.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CWT. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.90.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 117.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,100,000 after acquiring an additional 31,412 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 205.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 20,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.