California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $54.25 Consensus PT from Brokerages

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.25.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CWT. UBS Group raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $111,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,650. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $111,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,429 shares of company stock worth $223,375. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $52.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $54.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.95.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.40) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.80%.

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.