California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Given "Hold (C)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has received a "hold (c)" rating from Weiss Ratings, reaffirmed in a recent research note to investors.
• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for CWT from $59.00 to $55.00, while analysts' consensus rating remains a strong "Buy" with an average target price of $56.00.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $264.95 million, reflecting an 8.5% year-over-year increase.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.0%

CWT traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.80. 452,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,954. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $54.75. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $46.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 130.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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