Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) to Overweight

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $52.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $56.00.

CWT has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $44.35 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.