California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

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

California Water Service Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $47.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.53.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at about $887,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 4,055 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 432.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 22,059 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,979,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 21.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 311,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,095,000 after purchasing an additional 54,277 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.