Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 6,513 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.9%, selling 6,513 shares and holding a total of 715,650 shares worth approximately $34.68 million.
• California Water Service Group recently reported better-than-expected financial results, with earnings of $0.71 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.46.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.6%, with the dividend payment scheduled for August 22nd.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 715,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,513 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.20% of California Water Service Group worth $34,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,085,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,704,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 785.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.7%

CWT traded up $0.7990 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.5690. The company had a trading volume of 290,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,090. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.91. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. 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 (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. The company had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.