California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $41.64 and last traded at $42.21, with a volume of 425244 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CWT. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America initiated 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. Finally, 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 company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.8 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,709,000 after acquiring an additional 112,118 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 135.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,724,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 354.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 59,956 shares during the last quarter. 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.