Thomas M. Krummel Sells 2,220 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $111,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.4 %

CWT stock opened at $49.83 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $43.50 and a twelve month high of $58.30.

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

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,096,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,867,000 after acquiring an additional 240,944 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,877,000 after purchasing an additional 270,786 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,488,000 after purchasing an additional 43,285 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 32,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 11,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 52,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.