California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. decreased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 41,467 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,491,000 after acquiring an additional 25,711 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,605,000 after purchasing an additional 19,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,753,000 after buying an additional 10,819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $49.11 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.76. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.37%.

California Water Service Group 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.