Insider Selling: California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Sells 1,654 Shares of Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $51.06. 239,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 346,355. 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 has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $54.85. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.99.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.40) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CWT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second 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. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CWT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.