California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $56.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Key Points

• California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $56.00 over the next twelve months.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.71 per share for the quarter, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $0.46, alongside an 8.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.30 will be paid to investors on August 22nd, representing an annualized yield of 2.6%.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the three brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CWT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT traded down $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $46.26. The company had a trading volume of 46,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,309. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is 52.40%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $146,824,000 after acquiring an additional 67,002 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 35.4% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,769,000 after acquiring an additional 527,343 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in California Water Service Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,907,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $91,386,000 after acquiring an additional 16,346 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in California Water Service Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,607,000 after acquiring an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,458,000 after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

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.