Amundi Sells 18,216 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

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 lowered its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,890,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,216 shares during the period. Amundi owned 3.17% of California Water Service Group worth $92,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth about $74,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth about $97,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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 upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.26. 226,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 361,060. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

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.