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

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

CWT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 2.5 %

California Water Service Group stock traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.26. 476,883 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,697. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $42.31 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.27. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.