California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Price Target Lowered to $55.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

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 - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

CWT has been the subject of several other reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $46.43. 281,583 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,039. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.71.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $340,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,824,000 after buying an additional 67,002 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,769,000 after purchasing an additional 527,343 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,670,000 after acquiring an additional 22,192 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.