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

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWTGet Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $51.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWTGet Free Report) last announced 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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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