nVerses Capital LLC Invests $119,000 in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,665 shares of company stock worth $90,093. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1 %

CWT stock opened at $53.63 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.08.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.