Key Points
- Director Lester Snow sold 500 CWT shares at an average price of $50.21, generating $25,105 and reducing his ownership by 2.73% to 17,817 shares.
- California Water Service Group reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, exceeding estimates of $0.80, while revenue rose 16.5% year over year to $308.6 million.
- The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $54 price target.
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) Director Lester Snow sold 500 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $25,105.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,817 shares in the company, valued at $894,591.57. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.
California Water Service Group Stock Performance
Shares of CWT opened at $49.62 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.29 and a 52 week high of $53.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.50.
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm's revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.
California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.36%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on CWT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.
Get Our Latest Research Report on CWT
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 311,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,095,000 after buying an additional 54,277 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 432.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 22,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 4,055 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.
About California Water Service Group
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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