California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) VP Michael B. Luu Sells 985 Shares

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.98. The company had a trading volume of 448,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,046. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.88.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

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.