California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

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

Separately, Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CWT traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.51. The stock had a trading volume of 166,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,107. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.61.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 68,914 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth about $3,724,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in California Water Service Group by 354.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after buying an additional 59,956 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.