Trexquant Investment LP Sells 35,631 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has reduced its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 61.2%, selling 35,631 shares and retaining 22,600 shares valued at approximately $1,095,000.
• Several institutional investors have altered their positions, with notable increases from Ieq Capital LLC by 178.3% and Cbre Investment Management by 8.0%, highlighting significant interest despite Trexquant's withdrawal.
• California Water Service Group reported $0.71 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $264.95 million, up 8.5% year-over-year.

Trexquant Investment LP cut its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 61.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,631 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,824,000 after buying an additional 67,002 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,769,000 after buying an additional 527,343 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 985,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,740,000 after buying an additional 56,993 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 700,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,949,000 after buying an additional 52,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,562,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.2%

CWT traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.27. 223,593 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,982. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.04.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

About California Water Service Group

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.