California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $54.50 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.25.

CWT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $43.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52. 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 current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.22.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other 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 transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CWT. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. 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.