California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

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

CWT has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.93. 401,414 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,920. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.85 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $43.50 and a twelve month high of $58.30.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The company had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.40) EPS. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 175,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,325,000 after purchasing an additional 46,303 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 65,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174 shares during the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 7,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.