California Water Service Group $CWT Shares Sold by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its stake in California Water Service Group (CWT) by 1.0%, now owning approximately 3.17% of the company, valued at $92.17 million.
• Wells Fargo & Company decreased its target price for CWT shares from $59.00 to $55.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, as analysts set a consensus price target of $56.00.
• California Water Service Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.71, exceeding the consensus estimate, and declared a dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding 2.5%.

Amundi decreased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,890,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,216 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 3.17% of California Water Service Group worth $92,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.6%

CWT stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.41. 288,962 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,368. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.04. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

About California Water Service Group

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.