California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Down 3.2% - Time to Sell?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $48.72 and last traded at $48.61. 84,363 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 331,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.75.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. California Water Service Group's quarterly revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $340,642,000 after buying an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,384,000 after purchasing an additional 113,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.