Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 289,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,536 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of California Water Service Group worth $14,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 57,000.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 3.0 %

CWT opened at $54.95 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $55.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.80. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total transaction of $29,409.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,251,411.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total value of $29,409.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,251,411.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,874 shares of company stock valued at $202,318 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.