California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Sell"

StockNews.com cut shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,154. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. 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 fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.22.

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California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS 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 analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,642,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,607,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,670,000 after buying an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,384,000 after buying an additional 113,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 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.