California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.25.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total transaction of $29,559.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,916.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total value of $29,559.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,916.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,429 shares of company stock worth $223,375. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,079,000 after buying an additional 872,865 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,249,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,789,000 after acquiring an additional 10,993 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 654,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 95,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 613,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,826,000 after acquiring an additional 32,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $52.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $54.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.48.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.40) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

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.