California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Short Interest Update

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 550,300 shares, a growth of 53.1% from the August 15th total of 359,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 289,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 3.1 %

California Water Service Group stock opened at $54.98 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.86. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $55.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $29,365.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,157.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,874 shares of company stock worth $202,318 in the last quarter. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.