Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Grows Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its California Water Service Group position by 416.9% in the first quarter, owning 257,970 shares valued at approximately $11.7 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 82.78% of CWT’s shares.
• California Water Service reported quarterly EPS of $0.93 and revenue of $308.6 million, beating analyst expectations while revenue rose 16.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335, equivalent to a 2.7% annual yield.
• Despite strong earnings and planned infrastructure and rate-base expansion, directors recently sold shares, operating expenses increased, and analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating with a $54 target price.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 416.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 257,970 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 208,061 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.43% of California Water Service Group worth $11,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 67.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 1,475.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $50.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $47.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.99. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $53.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

California Water Service Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting California Water Service Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings per diluted share rose to $0.93 from $0.71 a year earlier, exceeding the $0.79 consensus estimate. Revenue increased 16.5% to $308.6 million, above expectations of $283.5 million, helped by rate-case catch-up revenue, rate changes, and higher customer usage. California Water Q2 Earnings Beat on Rate Case Catch-Up & Higher Usage
• Positive Sentiment: The final California general rate-case decision provides additional earnings visibility, with authorized rate adjustments expected to add $90.5 million, or 10.9%, to 2026 company-wide revenue. Management also anticipates a roughly $3.5 billion rate base by the end of 2028 as the new regulatory framework takes effect. CWT anticipates $3.5B rate base by end of 2028
• Positive Sentiment: CWT invested a record $147 million in infrastructure during the quarter and $276.4 million in the first half, supporting long-term rate-base growth. Progress on the planned $218 million Nexus Water Group acquisition could add approximately 36,000 customer-equivalent units and $109 million of rate base, subject to regulatory approvals.
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared its 326th consecutive quarterly dividend and is implementing an 8% annual dividend increase to approximately $1.34 per share, reinforcing its appeal as an income-oriented utility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s longer-term outlook remains tied to regulatory approvals, acquisition closing conditions, customer usage trends, and the pace of infrastructure investment. California Water Service Group Reports Strong Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Operating expenses grew to $237.7 million from $213.1 million, including a $6.3 million increase in water-production costs from higher wholesale rates and a $7 million increase in income taxes. Continued record capital spending may also pressure near-term cash flow and increase financing needs.
• Negative Sentiment: With shares trading near the upper end of their 52-week range and at roughly 25 times earnings, the strong results may have been largely anticipated, encouraging profit-taking despite the quarterly beat. Recent reported insider activity also showed selling rather than buying.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CWT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.