California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 2.1 %

CWT traded up $1.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.52. The stock had a trading volume of 410,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,240. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.40. 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 has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted 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 return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth about $37,998,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,642,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 308,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,994,000 after acquiring an additional 147,043 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,384,000 after acquiring an additional 113,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,747,000 after acquiring an additional 110,962 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.