California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded up $0.41 on Friday, reaching $51.44. The company had a trading volume of 282,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,225. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 71.19 and a beta of 0.45. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $45.44 and a 52-week high of $66.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.57.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $254.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.23 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 3.04%. As a group, analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 144.44%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $693,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 726,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,368,000 after acquiring an additional 39,879 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 52,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 21.6% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.63% 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.