Robert W. Baird Increases California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Price Target to $55.00

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $52.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.75% from the company's current price.

CWT has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. UBS Group upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet cut California Water Service Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CWT traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.93. 401,414 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,920. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.11 and a 200 day moving average of $48.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.85 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.40) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 64.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 1,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.