Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New $25.64 Million Investment in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 527,076 shares of California Water Service Group worth approximately $25.64 million, giving it a 0.85% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 82.78% of the company.
• California Water Service Group reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, exceeding the $0.80 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 16.5% year over year to $308.6 million.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.335, equivalent to an annualized $1.34 payout and a 2.7% yield. Analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating with a $54 target price.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 527,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,642,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.85% of California Water Service Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $79,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 76.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 78,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,815,000 after buying an additional 33,852 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,061,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 228.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 23.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 121,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,527,000 after buying an additional 22,825 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.8%

CWT opened at $50.47 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.72.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is 60.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

California Water Service Group Company 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.

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