Arjuna Capital Invests $3.72 Million in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Arjuna Capital purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 68,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,724,000.

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

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CWT traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.06. The company had a trading volume of 5,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.83. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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