Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 31,412 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 117.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,412 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of California Water Service Group worth $3,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,709,000 after purchasing an additional 112,118 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at $3,724,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 354.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after buying an additional 59,956 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CWT. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $45.62 on Thursday. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

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.