California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $58.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the three analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CWT traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.08. The company had a trading volume of 184,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,010. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.28 and its 200 day moving average is $46.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders 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 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 130.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. 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.