California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $51.19 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.84.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 117.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,100,000 after buying an additional 31,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 52.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 63,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position 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 worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 58.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares during the period. 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.