42,500 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Purchased by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management bought a new stake in California Water Service Group, purchasing 42,500 shares valued at about $1.93 million in the first quarter.
• The company’s latest quarterly earnings missed estimates, with EPS of $0.07 versus the expected $0.25, even though revenue came in slightly above forecasts at $214.57 million.
• California Water Service Group also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, or $1.34 annually, for a yield of about 2.7%.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 42,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,927,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 0.07% of California Water Service Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 311,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,095,000 after purchasing an additional 54,277 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,316,000 after buying an additional 22,059 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 4,055 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT opened at $49.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 1.83 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. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.29 and a 12-month high of $50.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.20.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 23,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CWT. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.50.

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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