Swiss National Bank Decreases Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $6,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in 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 worth $51,093,000 after buying an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at $6,823,000. Arjuna Capital bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,724,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 354.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 59,956 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,761,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $50.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $43.50 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.