Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 13,998 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC trimmed its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,998 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 129.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $282,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 stock 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.64. 418,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 327,660. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $53.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio 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 market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.49.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $30,153.15. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,750.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,665 shares of company stock valued at $90,093 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

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.