Fox Run Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 20,046 California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. has invested approximately $971,000 in California Water Service Group by acquiring 20,046 shares during the first quarter.
• California Water Service Group reported a $0.71 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.46, with revenue increasing 8.5% year-over-year.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a yield of 2.6%, on August 22nd to shareholders of record as of August 11th.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $971,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,060 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock traded down $0.2560 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.8440. The stock had a trading volume of 106,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,807. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.66.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. During the same period last year, the business 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 research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio 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.