Cwm LLC Raises Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Cwm LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 40.8% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,079,000 after purchasing an additional 872,865 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,957,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,823,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CWT opened at $52.97 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.22. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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 firm had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $30,153.15. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,750.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,665 shares of company stock worth $90,093. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.