California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the three analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.67.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.6 %

California Water Service Group stock opened at $48.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 686.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 4,124.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 41,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 40,500 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 4,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.