GAMMA Investing LLC Has $67,000 Stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 50.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $67,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,025,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $1,996,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $30,153.15. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,750.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,665 shares of company stock worth $90,093. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CWT opened at $53.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.95.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced 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. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The business had revenue of $244.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.