California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $51.19 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.86.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insider Activity

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,000. 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.