California Water Service Group $CWT Shares Acquired by Allworth Financial LP

Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 105.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,326 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 21.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 311,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,095,000 after acquiring an additional 54,277 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 432.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 22,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 4,055 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.53, for a total transaction of $32,952.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 23,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,357.15. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael S. Mares, Jr. sold 3,892 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $171,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $375,100. This trade represents a 31.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $42.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.29 and a 52 week high of $50.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.83.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.27 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CWT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.