Van ECK Associates Corp Has $843,000 Stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,794 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 50,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 32,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 38.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 4,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 19.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,021,000 after buying an additional 31,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.5 %

CWT stock opened at $51.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $43.50 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.81. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group 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.