13,283 Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Purchased by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,252,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 14,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,209. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.47 and a 200-day moving average of $47.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 52.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CWT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group 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.