California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Short Interest Up 6.0% in December

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 675,500 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the November 30th total of 637,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 299,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 297.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 16,966 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $585,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after buying an additional 48,055 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth approximately $588,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CWT opened at $44.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.36. 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 (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 32.37%.

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.