California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Moved Up to Hold by Freedom Broker

by · The Markets Daily

Freedom Broker upgraded shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Free Report) to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on CWT. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $45.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.09. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $53.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3350 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,638.48. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $25,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,591.57. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,009,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 52,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,398,000 after buying an additional 29,797 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,927,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth approximately $2,061,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in California Water Service Group by 416.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 257,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,696,000 after acquiring an additional 208,061 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About California Water Service Group

(Get Free Report)

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a water utility holding company that provides regulated water service to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Its operating companies collect, treat, test and distribute drinking water through local water systems, while also maintaining the wells, reservoirs, treatment facilities, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to deliver reliable service.

The company operates primarily through California Water Service Company, along with subsidiaries serving customers in Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington.

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