Banque Pictet & Cie SA Purchases Shares of 12,138 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth $74,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Monday, hitting $46.70. 254,418 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 338,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.56. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.63%.

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.