California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $47.52 and last traded at $47.58. 55,347 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 309,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.59.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.