Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 21,303 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 26.8%, acquiring an additional 21,303 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 100,842 shares worth approximately $4.89 million.
• Several other institutional investors also expanded their holdings in California Water Service Group, with 82.78% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting an 8.5% year-over-year revenue increase.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,303 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.17% of California Water Service Group worth $4,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,294,000 after buying an additional 3,810 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $4,186,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 75.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,572,000 after buying an additional 49,420 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 12.1% in the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 39,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,938,000 after buying an additional 4,325 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Bode LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $17,728,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $46.27. 223,593 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,784. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.06. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.69. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. 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 (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $264.95 million for 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.