California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $52.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $56.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.61% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT opened at $43.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.00 and a 200-day moving average of $51.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,711 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,605,000 after purchasing an additional 19,118 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.