California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America assumed 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 476,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,697. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $42.31 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $48.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.27.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,711 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,605,000 after buying an additional 19,118 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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