Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 13,769 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,769 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.17% of California Water Service Group worth $5,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CWT traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.40. The stock had a trading volume of 195,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,669. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $52.88 and its 200 day moving average is $51.82. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 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.