StockNews.com Upgrades California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) to “Hold”

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE:CWT traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.27. 584,202 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,915. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.62 and its 200-day moving average is $48.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,998,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,642,000 after buying an additional 158,295 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 308,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,994,000 after buying an additional 147,043 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,384,000 after buying an additional 113,622 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,747,000 after acquiring an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. 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.