Analysts Set California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Target Price at $54.25

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the four analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.25.

CWT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TheStreet downgraded California Water Service Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total transaction of $29,559.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,241,916.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total transaction of $29,559.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,241,916.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $111,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 124.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 352,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,699,000 after buying an additional 11,870 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 764.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,380 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,216,000 after purchasing an additional 116,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $750,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE CWT traded down $1.41 on Thursday, reaching $51.11. 292,527 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 364,978. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $58.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business's revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.40) EPS. Analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.80%.

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.