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 the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $50.96 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,823,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter valued at $535,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 297.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 16,966 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,609,000 after acquiring an additional 232,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at $568,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.