California Water Service Group $CWT Shares Bought by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group (CWT) by 2.3% in Q1, now owning approximately 3,029,785 shares, valued at around $146.8 million.
• California Water Service Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.25, with revenues of $264.95 million.
• The company will distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share on August 22nd, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.6%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,002 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 5.09% of California Water Service Group worth $146,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,806 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.6% during the first 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 period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.0% during the first 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 period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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 raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Insider Activity

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $46.7850 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.88. 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 has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

About California Water Service Group

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.

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