California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• California Water Service Group shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $50.45 before ending slightly lower at $49.91. The move came on very light volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still points to upside overall: Weiss Ratings nudged its view higher, Wall Street Zen cut the stock to sell, and Robert W. Baird set a $54 price target. The consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average target of $54.50.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.07 per share, missing estimates, though revenue rose 5.2% year over year to $214.57 million. California Water Service also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% yield.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $50.45 and last traded at $49.91, with a volume of 184 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.99. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.18). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 11.77%.The company had revenue of $214.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. California Water Service Group's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 67.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,030,756.50. The trade was a 13.45% 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. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 228.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 23.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 121,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 22,825 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 16.0% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 34,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in California Water Service Group by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,470,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,421,000 after purchasing an additional 732,004 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 100.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.

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