Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00, while still maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, indicating a potential upside of 17.68% based on the company's previous close.
• In contrast to Wells Fargo, Seaport Res Ptn has upgraded the stock's rating to "strong-buy," while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to "sell," highlighting differing opinions among analysts.
• California Water Service Group recently reported earnings of $0.71 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and showed a year-over-year revenue growth of 8.5% during the last quarter.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 17.68% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE CWT traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $46.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,138. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $45.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The company had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Northstar Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 102,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,650,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 91.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 5,051 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 4,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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