California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)’s share price rose 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.22 and last traded at $49.99. Approximately 164,924 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 334,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed 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 target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 2.0 %

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’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in California Water Service Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 144.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 5,684 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.