California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $51.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.51. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $52.28.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.18). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The firm had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,030,756.50. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CWT. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 67.9% in the 1st 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.