California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Trading 3.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)’s stock price shot up 3.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.22 and last traded at $49.99. 164,924 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 334,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CWT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.20 and its 200 day moving average is $48.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $340,642,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,607,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,384,000 after acquiring an additional 113,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. 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.