ClearAlpha Technologies LP Makes New $1 Million Investment in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 18,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 valued at $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,823,000. Arjuna Capital purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,724,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 354.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 59,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,761,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s 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 owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $51.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.09 and a 200 day moving average of $51.83. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.