Bank of America Begins Coverage on California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Investment analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 17.21% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after acquiring an additional 31,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 52.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 63,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 58.3% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.