Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Invests $2.36 Million in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought 54,407 shares of California Water Service Group in Q4, a position worth about $2.36 million and representing 0.09% of the company.
• Other institutional investors also increased their stakes, and hedge funds and institutions now own 82.78% of California Water Service Group.
• Analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus on CWT with a target price of $54.50, while the stock recently traded around $43.28.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 54,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. owned 0.09% of California Water Service Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CWT. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $43.28 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $44.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.78. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $50.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $214.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.27 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. California Water Service Group's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 67.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.53, for a total transaction of $32,952.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 23,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,357.15. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael S. Mares, Jr. sold 3,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $171,248.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $375,100. This trade represents a 31.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group 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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