Martingale Asset Management L P Acquires 6,146 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 8.0%, acquiring an additional 6,146 shares, and now owns a total of 82,945 shares valued at approximately $4.02 million.
• California Water Service Group recently reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue increased by 8.5% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.6%, set to be paid on August 22nd to investors of record on August 11th.

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,146 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned approximately 0.14% of California Water Service Group worth $4,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,085,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $4,704,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 132,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,001,000 after purchasing an additional 12,760 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.10. The stock had a trading volume of 35,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 364,643. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $46.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.95.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. 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 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.