California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:CWT traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $45.56. The stock had a trading volume of 241,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,198. The business's fifty day moving average is $48.35 and its 200 day moving average is $47.05. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CWT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,998,000. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.4% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,769,000 after buying an additional 527,343 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $21,562,000. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth $17,728,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 204.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 315,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,298,000 after purchasing an additional 211,914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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