California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Short Interest Update

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 771,900 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the December 31st total of 675,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 304,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s 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 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 available through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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 business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Northstar Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,299,000 after acquiring an additional 8,263 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 288,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,097,000 after acquiring an additional 11,328 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $45.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.63.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 34.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.25.

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.