18,300 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Acquired by Strs Ohio

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 bought a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CWT traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $45.44. The company had a trading volume of 272,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,092. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $54.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.00.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million for 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 business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

About California Water Service Group

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.