Bridge City Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Bridge City Capital LLC cut its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC owned 0.08% of California Water Service Group worth $2,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $340,642,000 after buying an additional 158,295 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,607,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,384,000 after acquiring an additional 113,622 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $45.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.99.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

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.