Arjuna Capital Sells 18,873 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Key Points

• Arjuna Capital reduced its stake in California Water Service Group by 22.2%, now holding approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $3.20 million.
• Several institutions, including Versant Capital Management and Sterling Capital Management, significantly increased their stakes, indicating strong institutional interest, with combined institutional ownership at 82.78%.
• California Water Service Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.71, exceeding analyst estimates, and declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 2.6% yield.

Arjuna Capital reduced its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,873 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital owned approximately 0.11% of California Water Service Group worth $3,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in California Water Service Group by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,461,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in California Water Service Group by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,435,000 after purchasing an additional 16,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CWT. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE CWT traded up $0.17 on Monday, reaching $46.65. The company had a trading volume of 76,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,725. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.79. 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 (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The business 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%. California Water Service Group's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

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.