California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Trading 2.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) shares rose 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.52 and last traded at $47.58. Approximately 55,347 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 309,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.51.

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

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently 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.