Citigroup Inc. Acquires 31,831 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 78.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,831 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $3,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $119,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $49.67 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.03 and a 200 day moving average of $51.80. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

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.