Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $1.06 Million Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $29,365.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,157.51. This trade 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 the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,220 shares of company stock valued at $119,503 in the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $52.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. 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) last posted 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. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

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.