Insider Selling: California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Sells $55,812.00 in Stock

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:CWT opened at $46.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.66. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.82. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on CWT shares. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth $34,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 785.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.