California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Lester Snow Sells 500 Shares of Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Lester Snow sold 500 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $894,591.57. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.7%

California Water Service Group stock opened at $49.62 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.29 and a 12 month high of $53.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWT. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in California Water Service Group by 228.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 67.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.