California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Purchased by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 282.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,412 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $127,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,241.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,874 shares of company stock worth $202,318. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $53.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $53.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $216.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 44.80%.

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.