California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) VP Sells $50,727.50 in Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $51.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 448,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,046. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.88. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

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.