Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 711 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,670,000 after buying an additional 22,192 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,998,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,435,000 after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CWT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE CWT opened at $46.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%. The business had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.40%.

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.