Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,609,000 after acquiring an additional 232,344 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,491,000 after acquiring an additional 25,711 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,103 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.8% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,605,000 after purchasing an additional 19,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,753,000 after purchasing an additional 10,819 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CWT opened at $50.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.81.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

About California Water Service Group

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.