California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Upgraded to Buy at Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker upgraded California Water Service Group to “buy” from “hold” and raised its price target to $53 from $49, implying 11.61% upside. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target of $53.50.
• California Water Service reported third-quarter revenue of $332.17 million, up 6.7% year over year and in line with estimates, but EPS of $1.05 missed consensus by $0.11.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, its 327th consecutive quarterly payout, while institutional investors own 82.78% of outstanding shares.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Broker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $53.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior price objective of $49.00. Freedom Broker's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.61% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CWT. Weiss Ratings upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.7%

California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.49. The company had a trading volume of 293,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,689. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.70. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $53.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.62.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.11). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $332.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $332.17 million. The business's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $25,105.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,591.57. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $523,255,000. Amundi lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,486,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $169,741,000 after acquiring an additional 15,862 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,324,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,158,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth $39,285,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting California Water Service Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased 6.7% year over year to $332.17 million in the third quarter, matching analyst expectations. The company’s regulated utility model and continued infrastructure investment support relatively stable cash flows. California Water Service Q3 revenue increases 6.7% to $332.2 million
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, payable November 20 to shareholders of record November 9. This is CWT’s 327th consecutive quarterly dividend, reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors and representing an annualized $1.34 payout, or roughly a 2.8% yield. California Water Service Group declares its 327th consecutive dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted water utilities as defensive, regulated businesses with decades of dividend payments. That may support demand for CWT among conservative investors, although the sector’s regulated rate-setting process can limit near-term growth. These 4 Boring Dividend Stocks Get Paid Every Time America Turns on the Tap
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS was $1.05, below the $1.16 consensus estimate by $0.11, despite rising from $1.03 a year earlier. The earnings shortfall is the clearest likely reason for the stock’s weakness, particularly with CWT trading at approximately 21 times earnings. California Water Service Group third-quarter earnings report

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT is a holding company that provides water utility services through its regulated operating subsidiaries. The company supplies clean water for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers, and its operations include the production, treatment, storage, distribution and delivery of water. Some of its subsidiaries also provide wastewater collection and treatment services.

The company's principal subsidiary, California Water Service Company, serves communities throughout California.

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