By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Free Report) were up 5.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.15 and last traded at $45.17. 211,780 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 344,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.91.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.
View Our Latest Analysis on CWT
California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.3 %
The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position 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 valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.
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