Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, water utility California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Cal Water's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Cal Water facts
| Headquarters (Founded) |
San Jose, Calif. (1926) |
| Market Cap |
$791.6 million |
| Industry |
Water utilities |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$468.3 million |
| Management |
CEO Peter Nelson (since 1996)
CFO Martin Kropelnicki (since 2006)
|
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) |
9.8% |
| Cash/Debt |
$40.9 million / $510.2 million |
| Dividend Yield |
3.2% |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 96% of the 246 members who have rated Cal Water believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include sudspark and concealedweaponR.
This past spring, sudspark tapped Cal Water as a particularly solid income opportunity:
Extremely stable stock. Great pattern of increasing dividends. Easy 25% upside including dividends.
Over the next five years, in fact, Cal Water is expected to grow its bottom line at a solid rate of 9% annually. That's faster than other water utility plays like Aqua America (NYSE: WTR ) (6%), American States Water (NYSE: AWR ) (5.5%), and Sabesp (NYSE: SBS ) (6%).
CAPS member concealedweaponR elaborates on the Cal Water bull case:
BORING. Slow steady growth in a simple company. Not a company people think about at all when they have their money in it. Even in the market crash no body worries about this one. Buy it, hold it, compound the dividends, go to sleep, forget about it.
What do you think about Cal Water, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!
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