Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

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Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 15,907 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.24% of California Water Service Group worth $6,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.4% during the 1st 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. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,607,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.1% during the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at $21,562,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of CWT traded up $0.7990 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.5690. The company had a trading volume of 290,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,250. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.66. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.California Water Service Group's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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 2.5%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 52.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities 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 presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

California Water Service Group 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.