Short Interest in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Rises By 23.8%

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 819,100 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the February 13th total of 661,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 360,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $46.29 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. 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, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

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.