Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Increases Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 693,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,118 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 1.20% of California Water Service Group worth $33,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $804,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 282.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 18,412 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $889,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $29,365.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,157.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,874 shares of company stock valued at $202,318 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT remained flat at $52.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 308,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $53.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.31. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. California Water Service Group's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

California Water Service Group Company 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.