California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Position Decreased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 72.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 182,069 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of California Water Service Group worth $3,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $44.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.31 and its 200-day moving average is $50.99. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 32.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % 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. 0.73% of the stock is currently 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.