California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CWT. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of CWT opened at $46.51 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%. The business had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,670,000 after buying an additional 22,192 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 4,903 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $37,998,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,435,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,073,000 after buying an additional 49,107 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.