41,170 Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Acquired by Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 41,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,996,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $127,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CWT opened at $54.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 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 market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.45.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $29,365.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,157.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,874 shares of company stock valued at $202,318 over the last 90 days. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.