California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Short Interest Down 10.3% in September

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 493,500 shares, a decline of 10.3% from the August 31st total of 550,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 295,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock traded down $0.51 on Tuesday, hitting $53.71. 322,996 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,451. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.90 and a 200 day moving average of $50.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $56.25. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, 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 value of $82,815.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,874 shares of company stock valued at $202,318. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 40.8% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,079,000 after buying an additional 872,865 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,614,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,957,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently 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.