California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $46.14, but opened at $48.11. California Water Service Group shares last traded at $46.3930, with a volume of 19,726 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Broker started coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.48.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.3350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester Snow sold 500 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $25,105.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,591.57. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth $6,009,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 52,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after acquiring an additional 29,797 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $1,927,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,061,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 416.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 257,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,696,000 after buying an additional 208,061 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) is a water utility holding company that provides regulated water and related services through its operating subsidiaries. The company supplies drinking water to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers, managing water sourcing, treatment, storage, quality monitoring and distribution systems.

Its principal subsidiary, California Water Service Company, serves communities throughout California. The group also operates through Hawaii Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company and Washington Water Service Company, giving it a presence in several U.S.