California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Thomas M. Krummel Sells 555 Shares of Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $55.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.40 and its 200 day moving average is $49.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $55.48.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWT. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 69,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,609,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 32,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.