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

Key Points

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Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 140,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,907 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.24% of California Water Service Group worth $6,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,806 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 38,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in California Water Service Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,060 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CWT stock traded up $0.7990 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.5690. The company's stock had a trading volume of 290,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,090. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 52.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Company 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.