Short Interest in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Rises By 5.9%

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 903,500 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the October 15th total of 852,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 281,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $56.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised California Water Service Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 28th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.77, for a total value of $28,732.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,435,633.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.77, for a total transaction of $28,732.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,435,633.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $111,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 58.6% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 80.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CWT stock opened at $51.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.77 and a 200 day moving average of $51.51. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $45.44 and a twelve month high of $66.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 71.44 and a beta of 0.45.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $254.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.23 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 3.04%. On average, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.44%.

About California Water Service Group

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.