Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 29,559 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 9,095.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,559 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in California Water Service Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,730,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maven Securities LTD lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 27,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total value of $160,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.5%

CWT opened at $50.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.10 and a 200 day moving average of $45.71. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.29 and a 12 month high of $52.51.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

About California Water Service Group

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.