Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,491,000 after acquiring an additional 25,711 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in 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 valued at $51,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $33,605,000 after acquiring an additional 19,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $27,753,000 after acquiring an additional 10,819 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $50.16 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.79 and a 200-day moving average of $51.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction 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 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.