Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $1.95 Million Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 43.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,292 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,472 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of California Water Service Group worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,670,000 after buying an additional 22,192 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 5,806 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at $37,998,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.9%

CWT stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,205. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company's revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 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.