28,115 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Acquired by Allworth Financial LP

Key Points

• Allworth Financial acquired 28,115 shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.37 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.78% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral view, with an average “Hold” rating and a $54 price target. CWT recently traded at $49.62, while two directors disclosed share sales.
• California Water Service exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.93 in EPS and $308.6 million in revenue, up 16.5% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% annual yield.

Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 28,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,368,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter worth $523,255,000. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,324,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 26.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,470,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,421,000 after acquiring an additional 732,004 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $25,642,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 5,365.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 368,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,891,000 after acquiring an additional 361,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CWT. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $805,904. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,638.48. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.8%

California Water Service Group stock opened at $49.62 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $49.36 and its 200-day moving average is $46.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.70. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $53.82. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is 60.36%.

California Water Service Group Company 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.

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