California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $48.68 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.74. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 117.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 31,412 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 52.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 63,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is 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.