Verition Fund Management LLC Grows Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,683 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth approximately $119,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE CWT opened at $48.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.59 and a 200-day moving average of $51.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

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.