200,000 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Acquired by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired 200,000 shares of California Water Service Group, valued at approximately $9.69 million, which represents about 0.34% of the company as of the latest reporting period.
• California Water Service Group recently reported earnings of $0.71 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, and is projected to post earnings of 3.15 per share for the current year.
• The firm also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding 2.5%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 200,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,692,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.34% of California Water Service Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,824,000 after purchasing an additional 67,002 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 35.4% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,769,000 after buying an additional 527,343 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 985,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,740,000 after buying an additional 56,993 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 113,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at $21,562,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE CWT traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.72. 30,041 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 362,237. 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 $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $46.10 and its 200-day moving average is $46.98.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. California Water Service Group's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.