California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in California Water Service Group (CWT) by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 40,469 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 188,605 shares valued at $9.14 million.
• Numerous institutional investors have modified their stakes in CWT, including Versant Capital Management, which raised its position by 751.3%, and Sterling Capital Management, which boosted its holding by 785.8%.
• California Water Service Group recently reported earnings of $0.71 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share with a yield of 2.6%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 188,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 40,469 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of California Water Service Group worth $9,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position 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 worth $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,461,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in California Water Service Group by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,435,000 after purchasing an additional 16,786 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 686.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CWT. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.51. The stock had a trading volume of 227,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,956. The business's fifty day moving average is $46.01 and its 200-day moving average is $46.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%. The company's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.40%.

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.