Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 34.9% during the first quarter, purchasing an additional 12,100 shares to reach a total of 46,739 shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with Wells Fargo raising its target price from $54.00 to $59.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "hold" to "sell."
• California Water Service Group's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.22, surpassing estimates and indicating a 24.7% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,739 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.08% of California Water Service Group worth $2,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $548,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $340,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 308,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,994,000 after purchasing an additional 147,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:CWT traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.45. The company had a trading volume of 212,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,468. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.64. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 52.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.