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

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.25.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. StockNews.com downgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 297.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 16,966 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $588,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.3 %

CWT opened at $44.53 on Thursday. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.86 and a 200-day moving average of $50.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

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.