California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Free Report) and VIPR (OTCMKTS:VIPV – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares California Water Service Group and VIPR”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| California Water Service Group | $1.05 billion | 2.96 | $128.21 million | $2.22 | 22.75 |
| VIPR | N/A | N/A | N/A | ($3.49) | N/A |
Profitability
This table compares California Water Service Group and VIPR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| California Water Service Group | 12.63% | 7.74% | 2.32% |
| VIPR | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for California Water Service Group and VIPR, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| California Water Service Group | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| VIPR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
California Water Service Group currently has a consensus target price of $54.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.94%. Given California Water Service Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe California Water Service Group is more favorable than VIPR.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
82.8% of California Water Service Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of California Water Service Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of VIPR shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
California Water Service Group beats VIPR on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. It offers its services to approximately 497,700 customer connections in 100 California communities; approximately 6,500 water and wastewater customer connections on the islands of Maui, Oahu, and Hawaii; approximately 38,000 customer connections in the Tacoma, Olympia, Graham, Spanaway, Puyallup, Rainier, Yelm, and Gig Harbor areas; and approximately 11,400 water and wastewater customer connections in Rio Communities, Rio Del Oro, Meadow Lake, Indian Hills, Squaw Valley, Elephant Butte, Morningstar, Sandia Knolls, Juan Tomas, and Cypress Gardens systems. The company also engages in the provision of non-regulated water-related services, including operating of municipally owned water systems, privately owned water, and recycled water distribution systems; water system operation, meter reading, and billing services to private companies and municipalities; leasing of communication antenna sites on its properties; and billing of optional third-party insurance programs to its residential customers. In addition, it provides lab, wastewater collection, and treatment services. California Water Service Group was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About VIPR
VIPR Corp. focuses on the acquisition, development, and marketing of strategic nutraceutical and nutraceutical related products for personal consumption, apparel, and home applications. VIPR Corp. was formerly known as S2C Global Systems Inc. and changed its name to VIPR Corp. in August 2014. The company is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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