California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Raised to “Hold” at Freedom Broker

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by Freedom Broker to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:CWT opened at $45.95 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.29 and a fifty-two week high of $53.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.09.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester Snow sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total transaction of $25,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,591.57. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 228.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 67.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a water utility holding company that provides regulated water service to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Its operating companies collect, treat, test and distribute drinking water through local water systems, while also maintaining the wells, reservoirs, treatment facilities, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to deliver reliable service.

The company operates primarily through California Water Service Company, along with subsidiaries serving customers in Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington.