California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Sets New 52-Week High at $55.22

Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $55.22 and last traded at $55.07, with a volume of 67460 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.26.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total transaction of $29,409.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,251,411.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total value of $29,409.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,411.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,319 shares of company stock valued at $171,743. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $127,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.