Entropy Technologies LP Buys New Stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $670,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,823,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 19.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,021,000 after purchasing an additional 31,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.99. 250,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 324,985. The company's 50 day moving average price is $52.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. California Water Service Group's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

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.