California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after buying an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,079,000 after acquiring an additional 872,865 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,614,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at about $7,957,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE CWT opened at $53.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $244.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $29,365.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,157.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $202,318 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Profile

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.