Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $227,000 in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,491,000 after buying an additional 25,711 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,093,000 after buying an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,605,000 after buying an additional 19,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,753,000 after buying an additional 10,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $50.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly 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 business 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 business posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.