California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $52.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $56.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.61% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CWT. StockNews.com cut California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 2.1 %

California Water Service Group stock opened at $43.84 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.36.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 79.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,709,000 after purchasing an additional 112,118 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,724,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 354.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 59,956 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

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.