California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $44.62

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $44.62 and last traded at $44.83, with a volume of 43820 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet cut shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 49.89 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.43.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.98). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The company had revenue of $214.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.09%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 125.84%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 58.6% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.