California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is one of 17 public companies in the “UTIL-WATER SPLY” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare California Water Service Group to related companies based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
70.1% of California Water Service Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.1% of shares of all “UTIL-WATER SPLY” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of California Water Service Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of shares of all “UTIL-WATER SPLY” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
This table compares California Water Service Group and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| California Water Service Group | $666.89 million | $67.18 million | 26.36 |
| California Water Service Group Competitors | $3.27 billion | $157.36 million | 11.84 |
California Water Service Group’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than California Water Service Group. California Water Service Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.
Profitability
This table compares California Water Service Group and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| California Water Service Group | 10.07% | 9.97% | 2.60% |
| California Water Service Group Competitors | 8.27% | 9.06% | 2.69% |
Dividends
California Water Service Group pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. California Water Service Group pays out 53.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “UTIL-WATER SPLY” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.2% and pay out 55.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. California Water Service Group has increased its dividend for 50 consecutive years.
Volatility and Risk
California Water Service Group has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, California Water Service Group’s peers have a beta of 0.46, meaning that their average share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for California Water Service Group and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| California Water Service Group | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 |
| California Water Service Group Competitors | 94 | 266 | 284 | 17 | 2.34 |
California Water Service Group presently has a consensus price target of $33.50, suggesting a potential downside of 9.21%. As a group, “UTIL-WATER SPLY” companies have a potential upside of 7.94%. Given California Water Service Group’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe California Water Service Group has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.
Summary
California Water Service Group peers beat California Water Service Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared.
About California Water Service Group
California Water Service Group is a holding company. The Company operates through the supply and distribution of water and providing water-related utility services segment. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides non-regulated services and non-regulated services to private companies and municipalities. The bulk of the business consists of the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public and irrigation uses, and for fire protection. It also provides non-regulated water-related services. The non-regulated services include water system operation, billing and meter reading services. Non-regulated operations also include the lease of communication antenna sites, lab services and promotion of other non-regulated services. The Company under its non-regulated contract arrangements, operates municipally owned water systems, privately owned water and recycled water distribution systems.
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