California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Price Down 3.2% - What's Next?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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 upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $194.80 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,670,000 after buying an additional 22,192 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 5,806 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently 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.