Amalgamated Bank Sells 338 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during 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 in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price 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 company. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $50.16 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.49. 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 has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $299.60 million during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio 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.