Penn Mutual Asset Management Invests $239,000 in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $860,000. ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at $1,001,000. Atom Investors LP lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 118.8% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 24,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 13,290 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 188.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 13,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 8,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 67,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,671,000 after buying an additional 12,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock opened at $49.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

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.