California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.68 and traded as high as $45.59. California Water Service Group shares last traded at $45.2640, with a volume of 434,531 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CWT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.72 and a 200-day moving average of $44.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.18). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The business had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total value of $160,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,030,756.50. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 14.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 277,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,723,000 after purchasing an additional 35,627 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,346,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,322,000 after buying an additional 34,155 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 178,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,191,000 after buying an additional 23,622 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,404,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,444,000 after buying an additional 59,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,244,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end?to?end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor?owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.