California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $54.67 Consensus PT from Brokerages

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the four research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.67.

A number of research firms recently commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.7 %

CWT stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.39. 148,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,924. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $46.88 and its 200-day moving average is $48.04. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 36.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWT. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 58.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 135.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,559,000 after buying an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 31,412 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.