GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 33,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,612,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.06% of California Water Service Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CWT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,670,000 after acquiring an additional 22,192 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,384,000 after acquiring an additional 113,622 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 627,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,867. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.66.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.40%.

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.