California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,867 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,750.98. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT opened at $50.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.85. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released 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). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.