California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $52.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $56.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $43.26 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $42.31 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced 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 company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business’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 business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,765,000 after buying an additional 57,811 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 31,412 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 52.2% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 63,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 68,914 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.