Squarepoint Ops LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its California Water Service Group stake by 82.6% in the second quarter, selling 40,489 shares and retaining 8,527 shares worth approximately $415,000.
• Other institutional investors, including BlackRock, Nuance Investments and Legal & General, initiated positions, while institutions collectively own 82.78% of CWT. Two company directors also sold shares, and insiders own 0.78% of the stock.
• California Water Service Group exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.93 in EPS and $308.6 million in revenue. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.335, representing an annualized yield of about 2.8%, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $54 price target.

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 82.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,489 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $523,255,000. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth $53,324,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth $39,285,000. Amundi increased its position in California Water Service Group by 26.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,470,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,421,000 after acquiring an additional 732,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $25,642,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lester Snow sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total transaction of $25,105.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $894,591.57. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $47.25 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.93 and a 200 day moving average of $47.09. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $53.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The business had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CWT shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT is a water utility holding company that provides regulated water service to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Its operating companies collect, treat, test and distribute drinking water through local water systems, while also maintaining the wells, reservoirs, treatment facilities, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to deliver reliable service.

The company operates primarily through California Water Service Company, along with subsidiaries serving customers in Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington.

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