Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 40,469 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

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 boosted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 40,469 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of California Water Service Group worth $9,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 valued at $42,073,000 after acquiring an additional 49,107 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,085,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. 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 dropped 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 report on Friday, August 1st.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CWT traded down $0.23 on Monday, reaching $46.28. 52,713 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,333. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $46.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.86. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $264.95 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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 $0.30 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.40%.

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.