California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Hits New 1-Year High at $55.56

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $55.56 and last traded at $55.50, with a volume of 369950 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.24 and a 200 day moving average of $49.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.28. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The business had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total value of $29,409.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,616 shares in the company, valued at $1,251,411.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total transaction of $29,409.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,411.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,874 shares of company stock worth $202,318. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $127,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.