California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $52.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $56.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CWT. StockNews.com downgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE CWT opened at $43.26 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $42.31 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 32.37%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

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 value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,765,000 after acquiring an additional 57,811 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 117.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 31,412 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,559,000 after buying an additional 24,275 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 63,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after buying an additional 21,791 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.