California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Bank of America

Investment analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.73% from the stock's previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CWT traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,426. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. The trade was 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 this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 297.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 16,966 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $568,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $585,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $588,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

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.