Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Trims Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. reduced its stake in California Water Service Group by 29.3%, owning 74,305 shares valued at $3.6 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Other institutional investors have adjusted their positions, including Wells Fargo, which increased its stake by 8.6%, and a new investment by Jupiter Asset Management worth approximately $5.5 million.
• California Water Service Group reported earnings per share of $0.71 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a dividend payout ratio of 52.40% and a declared quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. decreased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 29.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,761 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned 0.12% of California Water Service Group worth $3,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. One equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.9%

CWT stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Monday, reaching $47.16. 42,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,368. The business's 50 day moving average price is $46.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.93. 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 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

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.