California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.10% of California Water Service Group worth $2,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,670,000 after acquiring an additional 22,192 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 60,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,444,000. Finally, Triodos Investment Management BV raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 493,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,348,000 after buying an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $47.51 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.22. 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, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

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.