California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.86 and traded as high as $49.65. California Water Service Group shares last traded at $48.7550, with a volume of 549,574 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.51.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 67.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at $805,904. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,346,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,322,000 after purchasing an additional 34,155 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 26.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,470,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,421,000 after buying an additional 732,004 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,602,000 after buying an additional 36,296 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,825,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,094,000 after buying an additional 60,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,420,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,613 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

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.