Arjuna Capital Buys New Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Arjuna Capital bought a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 68,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,724,000. Arjuna Capital owned approximately 0.12% of California Water Service Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in California Water Service Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,794 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 50,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,348,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 38.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,520 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 4,613 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 19.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,021,000 after buying an additional 31,522 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 11.2% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 182,576 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,486,000 after buying an additional 18,388 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.40. 195,224 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,669. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.83. 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 has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value 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 $1,209,280.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.