California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.6667.

CWT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $44.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.86. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $52.83.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.17). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The business had revenue of $311.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,815 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 55.5% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 12,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 4,475 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 9.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.