California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Trading 5.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) rose 5.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.15 and last traded at $45.17. Approximately 211,780 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 344,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after acquiring an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,709,000 after buying an additional 112,118 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 214,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,619,000 after buying an additional 6,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thematics Asset Management increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 186,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,110,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.