California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $43.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $42.31 and a one year high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 50.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $85,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth about $119,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.