IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 11,006 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,006 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $3,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 25.9% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $282,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $30,153.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,750.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,665 shares of company stock valued at $90,093 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT opened at $54.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.98.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $244.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

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.