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

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CWT. 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 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT stock opened at $43.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52. 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 1 year low of $42.31 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.22.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current 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 shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 297.1% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 16,966 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $585,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.