California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Receives $54.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the four analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.67.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $50.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.04. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 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 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 36.70%.

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.