Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 33,852 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management increased its California Water Service Group stake by 76%, purchasing 33,852 additional shares to own 78,417 shares worth approximately $3.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.78% of CWT.
• California Water Service Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.93 EPS versus the $0.80 consensus and revenue of $308.6 million, up 16.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335, representing a 2.7% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average $54 price target, modestly above the reported $50.26 share price. Recent earnings-estimate revisions were mixed, with some future-quarter forecasts lowered.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 76.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,852 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.13% of California Water Service Group worth $3,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,346,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $318,322,000 after purchasing an additional 34,155 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 26.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,470,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,421,000 after purchasing an additional 732,004 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,205 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $144,602,000 after buying an additional 36,296 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,825,390 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $79,094,000 after buying an additional 60,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $61,579,000 after buying an additional 4,613 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $50.26 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.87 and its 200 day moving average is $46.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $53.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The business had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

Key Headlines Impacting California Water Service Group

Here are the key news stories impacting California Water Service Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its fiscal 2026 EPS estimate to $2.61 from $2.56 and its fiscal 2027 forecast to $2.72 from $2.71. The fiscal 2026 estimate is also above the broader consensus of $2.55, suggesting modestly improved full-year expectations. California Water Service Group estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks increased Q4 2026 EPS expectations to $0.39 from $0.37 and Q2 2027 expectations to $0.83 from $0.75, while maintaining forecasts for several other periods. The revisions indicate uneven earnings expectations rather than a broad change in the company’s outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered estimates for Q3 2026 EPS to $1.22 from $1.33, Q1 2027 EPS to $0.26 from $0.31, Q3 2027 EPS to $1.31 from $1.37, and Q1 2028 EPS to $0.31 from $0.35. These cuts to multiple future quarters could weigh on sentiment, particularly because utilities are valued partly on the stability and predictability of earnings.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,030,756.50. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CWT. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

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.

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