California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Acquired by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 70.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 26,299 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 0.11% of California Water Service Group worth $3,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $67,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 29,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,411,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $48.50. The company had a trading volume of 166,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,107. 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 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.62.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CWT. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.50.

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.