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

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $50.96 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.87.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 52.2% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 63,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 58.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 3,489 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth about $2,152,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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