California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

CWT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 785.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 3.5%

California Water Service Group stock opened at $46.92 on Tuesday. 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 $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.59.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 52.63%.

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.