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

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $49.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.32. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $43.50 and a twelve month high of $58.30. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. California Water Service Group’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 44.80%.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 38,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the topic of a number of analyst 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 raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.25.

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.