California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $51.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.86. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,280.59. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised 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 purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position 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 during the period. 82.78% of the stock is 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.