Triodos Investment Management BV Reduces Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Triodos Investment Management BV cut its stake in California Water Service Group by 16% in the fourth quarter, selling 79,000 shares and leaving it with 414,000 shares worth about $18.0 million.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $0.07 missed estimates, but revenue of $214.6 million came in above expectations and rose 5.2% year over year.
• California Water Service Group paid a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.0%, while analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $54.50 target price.

Triodos Investment Management BV lowered its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 414,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 79,000 shares during the period. Triodos Investment Management BV owned 0.69% of California Water Service Group worth $18,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $958,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,420,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,579,000 after purchasing an additional 4,613 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 43,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 11,233 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 763,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,097,000 after purchasing an additional 3,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 7,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE CWT opened at $45.12 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $50.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.51.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.18). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The business had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 67.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael S. Mares, Jr. sold 3,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $171,248.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $375,100. The trade was a 31.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,432 shares of company stock valued at $412,810. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.