California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Trading Up 2.3% - What's Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CWT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

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's 50 day moving average is $45.86 and its 200-day moving average is $48.40. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

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California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,765,000 after acquiring an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,548,000 after acquiring an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

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.