California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Now Covered by Freedom Broker

Equities researchers at Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $49.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Freedom Broker’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.98% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.7%

CWT traded down $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.38. 140,436 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 484,651. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $53.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total transaction of $25,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,591.57. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,638.48. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $523,255,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,486,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $169,741,000 after purchasing an additional 15,862 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,825,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,094,000 after purchasing an additional 60,931 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,158,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,285,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a water utility holding company that provides regulated water service to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Its operating companies collect, treat, test and distribute drinking water through local water systems, while also maintaining the wells, reservoirs, treatment facilities, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to deliver reliable service.

The company operates primarily through California Water Service Company, along with subsidiaries serving customers in Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington.