Wall Street Zen Upgrades California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) to "Hold"

Key Points

• California Water Service Group was upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price objective for CWT shares from $59.00 to $55.00, while also maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The firm reported strong quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving an 8.5% revenue increase year-over-year.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on CWT. 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 decreased their target price on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.7%

CWT stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.62. The stock had a trading volume of 117,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,215. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.71. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 130.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.