California Water Service Group
Market Cap
US$2.5b
Last Updated
2020/02/27 00:45 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii.
Snowflake Analysis
Established dividend payer with questionable track record.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has California Water Service Group's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: CWT has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
-3.3%
CWT
-3.7%
US Water Utilities
-7.6%
US Market
1 Year Return
1.3%
CWT
27.7%
US Water Utilities
10.2%
US Market
Return vs Industry: CWT underperformed the US Water Utilities industry which returned 27.7% over the past year.
Return vs Market: CWT underperformed the US Market which returned 10.2% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| CWT | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | -3.3% | -3.7% | -7.6% |
| 30 Day | -1.0% | -2.5% | -4.5% |
| 90 Day | 2.5% | 8.8% | -0.6% |
| 1 Year | 2.8%1.3% | 29.9%27.7% | 12.5%10.2% |
| 3 Year | 49.5%42.0% | 73.2%63.3% | 37.1%28.3% |
| 5 Year | 138.0%114.7% | 149.1%123.9% | 60.8%43.2% |
Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is California Water Service Group's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
6 days ago | Simply Wall St
Is California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Using Too Much Debt?2 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Is California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) A Smart Choice For Dividend Investors?4 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
What Kind Of Shareholder Owns Most California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock?Valuation
Is California Water Service Group undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
37.73x
Price to Earnings (PE) ratio
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: CWT ($52.67) is trading above our estimate of fair value ($19.63)
Significantly Below Fair Value: CWT is trading above our estimate of fair value.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: CWT is good value based on its PE Ratio (37.7x) compared to the Water Utilities industry average (38x).
PE vs Market: CWT is poor value based on its PE Ratio (37.7x) compared to the US market (17.1x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: CWT is poor value based on its PEG Ratio (3.2x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: CWT is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (3.3x) compared to the US Water Utilities industry average (2.8x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is California Water Service Group forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 4 analysts?
11.7%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: CWT's forecast earnings growth (11.7% per year) is above the savings rate (1.7%).
Earnings vs Market: CWT's earnings (11.7% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the US market (13.2% per year).
High Growth Earnings: CWT's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.
Revenue vs Market: CWT's revenue (3.7% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (7.6% per year).
High Growth Revenue: CWT's revenue (3.7% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: CWT's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (9.4%).
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has California Water Service Group performed over the past 5 years?
6.5%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: CWT has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: CWT's current net profit margins (9.5%) are lower than last year (9.9%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: CWT's earnings have grown by 6.5% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: CWT's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: CWT had negative earnings growth (-3.6%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the Water Utilities industry average (1%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: CWT's Return on Equity (8.9%) is considered low.
Return on Assets
Return on Capital Employed
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is California Water Service Group's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: CWT's short term assets ($212.1M) do not cover its short term liabilities ($333.9M).
Long Term Liabilities: CWT's short term assets ($212.1M) do not cover its long term liabilities ($1.9B).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: CWT's debt to equity ratio (126.9%) is considered high.
Reducing Debt: CWT's debt to equity ratio has increased from 78.9% to 126.9% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: CWT's debt is not well covered by operating cash flow (19.5%).
Interest Coverage: CWT's interest payments on its debt are not well covered by EBIT (2.7x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Inventory Level: CWT has a high level of physical assets or inventory.
Debt Coverage by Assets: CWT's debt is not covered by short term assets (assets are 0.2x debt).
Next Steps
Dividend
What is California Water Service Group's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
1.61%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Current dividend yield vs market & industry
Notable Dividend: CWT's dividend (1.61%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.53%).
High Dividend: CWT's dividend (1.61%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (3.96%).
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: CWT's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: CWT's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonable payout ratio (55.9%), CWT's dividend payments are covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: CWT's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be well covered by earnings (48.8% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
5.1yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Marty Kropelnicki (52yo)
6.4yrs
Tenure
US$5,903,323
Compensation
Mr. Martin A. Kropelnicki, also known as Marty, has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of California Water Service Company since September 1, 2013 and also serves as its Director. Mr. Kropelnic ...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Marty's total compensation ($USD5.90M) is about average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD4.98M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Marty's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | 6.4yrs | US$5.90m | 0.16% $4.1m | |
| VP, CFO & Treasurer | 7.3yrs | US$820.78k | 0.080% $2.0m | |
| VP & General Counsel | 5.1yrs | US$786.55k | 0.046% $1.2m | |
| VP of Corporate Development & Chief Regulatory Officer | 1.1yrs | US$1.06m | 0.041% $1.0m | |
| VP of Engineering and Chief Water Quality & Environmental Compliance Officer | 1.1yrs | US$913.98k | 0.017% $441.2k | |
| VP, Corporate Controller | 0yrs | no data | 0.028% $720.2k | |
| VP of Customer Service & Chief Information Officer | 3.1yrs | no data | 0.024% $615.2k | |
| Vice President of Corporate Communications & Community Affairs | 5.1yrs | no data | 0.023% $583.5k | |
| Vice President of Human Resources | 5.5yrs | no data | 0.031% $790.2k | |
| Chief Procurement & Lead Continuous Improvement Officer | 3.9yrs | no data | 0.0072% $182.3k |
5.1yrs
Average Tenure
53yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: CWT's management team is seasoned and experienced (5.1 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | 6.4yrs | US$5.90m | 0.16% $4.1m | |
| Non-Executive Chairman | 8.1yrs | US$265.57k | 0.030% $752.4k | |
| Director | 0.08yrs | no data | 0.00053% $13.4k | |
| Independent Director | 5.9yrs | US$168.47k | 0.027% $677.8k | |
| Independent Director | 9.6yrs | US$184.27k | 0.053% $1.3m | |
| Independent Director | 1.7yrs | US$92.59k | 0.0056% $142.0k | |
| Lead Independent Director | 6.8yrs | US$212.47k | 0.11% $2.9m | |
| Independent Director | 8.9yrs | US$167.17k | 0.038% $958.3k | |
| Independent Director | 4.4yrs | US$184.92k | 0.020% $505.4k | |
| Independent Director | 2.4yrs | US$155.87k | 0.0088% $221.9k |
6.2yrs
Average Tenure
65yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: CWT's board of directors are considered experienced (6.2 years average tenure).
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: CWT insiders have only sold shares in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Top Shareholders
Company Information
California Water Service Group's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: California Water Service Group
- Ticker: CWT
- Exchange: NYSE
- Founded: 1926
- Industry: Water Utilities
- Sector: Utilities
- Market Cap: US$2.536b
- Shares outstanding: 48.15m
- Website: https://www.calwatergroup.com
Number of Employees
Location
- California Water Service Group
- 1720 North First Street
- San Jose
- California
- 95112
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CWT | NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Jan 1969 |
| CWT * | BMV (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores) | Yes | Common Stock | MX | MXN | Jan 1969 |
Biography
California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii. It 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. The company offers its services to approximately 486,900 customer connections in 100 California communities; approximately 4,800 water and wastewater customer connections on the islands of Maui and Hawaii; approximately 17,600 customer connections in the Tacoma and Olympia areas in Washington; and approximately 8,200 water and wastewater customer connections in the Belen, Los Lunas, Indian Hills, and Elephant Butte areas in New Mexico. It also engages in the provision of non-regulated water-related services, including operating municipally owned water systems, privately owned water, and recycled water distribution systems; providing water system operation, meter reading, and billing services to private companies and municipalities; leasing communication antenna sites on its properties to telecommunication companies; billing optional third-party insurance programs to its residential customers; and providing lab services. California Water Service Group was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/02/27 00:45 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/02/26 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2019/09/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2018/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.