Strs Ohio Invests $887,000 in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake of 18,300 shares in California Water Service Group, valued at approximately $887,000, as reported in recent SEC disclosures.
• California Water Service Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.71, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.46, alongside an 8.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, representing an annual yield of 2.6% with a payout ratio of 52.40%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 37,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 21,220 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 317,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,389,000 after purchasing an additional 15,405 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 102.1% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 101,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,601,000 after purchasing an additional 51,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.41. The company had a trading volume of 945,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,378. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $54.75. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $46.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.69.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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, the stock 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.