Cwm LLC Acquires 2,406 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Cwm LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 76.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during 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. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 5,806 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,812,000 after buying an additional 4,903 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth about $37,998,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,435,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.4%

CWT stock opened at $44.88 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.53.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

California Water Service Group 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.