Graham Capital Management L.P. Purchases 21,606 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 153.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,606 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.06% of California Water Service Group worth $1,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $340,642,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in 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 worth $76,607,000 after acquiring an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $61,670,000 after acquiring an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in 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 worth $44,384,000 after acquiring an additional 113,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of CWT stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.69. The company had a trading volume of 418,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,049. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.36 and a 200 day moving average of $47.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

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.