California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Down 3.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) were down 3.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $48.72 and last traded at $48.61. Approximately 84,363 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 331,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CWT. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 2.7 %

The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.80.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.80 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 39.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 255,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,369,000 after purchasing an additional 72,519 shares during the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 51.3% during the 1st quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 9,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 76.3% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 30,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other 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.