D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 601 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $49.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.50. 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 quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.