California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $58.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two 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 brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

Several analysts recently commented on CWT shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.50. The stock had a trading volume of 882,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,067. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. California Water Service Group's revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $74,000. 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.