25,360 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Purchased by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,824,000 after acquiring an additional 67,002 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 35.4% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,769,000 after purchasing an additional 527,343 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,458,000 after purchasing an additional 14,183 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 985,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,740,000 after purchasing an additional 56,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 751,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,200,000 after purchasing an additional 51,423 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE CWT opened at $44.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $51.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.38 and its 200 day moving average is $46.27.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.17). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $311.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 target price on California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $55.67.

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.