AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 75.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 49,420 shares to bring its total to 114,980 shares.
• California Water Service Group reported a profit of $0.71 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.25 and achieving a revenue of $264.95 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with an annual yield of 2.6%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 52.40%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 75.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 49,420 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of California Water Service Group worth $5,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,435,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 37,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 21,220 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 6,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 317,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,389,000 after purchasing an additional 15,405 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.01. The stock had a trading volume of 318,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,164. The firm's fifty day moving average is $46.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.69. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CWT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

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.