T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 67,002 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

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. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in 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 quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 5.09% of California Water Service Group worth $146,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 785.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $47.18. 35,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 364,643. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is 52.40%.

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.