California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Sells $111,000.00 in Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $111,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE CWT opened at $50.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.34. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $58.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.40) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.