Insider Selling: California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Sells $25,105.00 in Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Lester Snow sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total transaction of $25,105.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,817 shares in the company, valued at $894,591.57. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.35 on Tuesday, hitting $49.62. 472,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,942. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $53.82.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 228.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.