Robert W. Baird Boosts California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Price Target to $55.00

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $52.00 to $55.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded California Water Service Group from a sell rating to a neutral rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.2 %

CWT stock opened at $47.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $58.30. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.31.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.40) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,877,000 after acquiring an additional 270,786 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,175,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,936,000 after purchasing an additional 479,457 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,570,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,313,000 after purchasing an additional 47,266 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in California Water Service Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,249,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,789,000 after purchasing an additional 10,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,096,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,867,000 after buying an additional 240,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.