Raymond James Financial Inc. Has $15.30 Million Stock Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 204.2%, acquiring an additional 211,914 shares for a total of 315,685 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million.
• California Water Service Group reported a quarterly Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.71, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.25 and achieving 8.5% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, resulting in a 2.6% yield and a payout ratio of 52.40%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 204.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 211,914 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.53% of California Water Service Group worth $15,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth $74,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, hitting $46.47. 356,072 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,464. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $46.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.69.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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