American Century Companies Inc. Raises Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 16.6%, owning 104,203 shares valued at approximately $5,050,000 following the purchase of 14,826 additional shares.
• California Water Service Group reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding expectations by 25 cents, and an 8.5% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.6% with a payout ratio of 52.40%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 14,826 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.17% of California Water Service Group worth $5,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.4% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,769,000 after purchasing an additional 527,343 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $21,562,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,384,000 after purchasing an additional 113,622 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $5,461,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 39.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 255,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,369,000 after purchasing an additional 72,519 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.93. The company had a trading volume of 250,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,192. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.69. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. California Water Service Group's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.