California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 408,100 shares, a drop of 17.3% from the September 15th total of 493,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 295,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.
CWT opened at $52.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.85. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25.
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.80%.
Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CWT
In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $29,365.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,220,157.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,220 shares of company stock valued at $119,503 over the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth $85,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.
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.
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