26,400 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 26,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 34,155 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,602,000 after acquiring an additional 36,296 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,738,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,634,000 after acquiring an additional 462,394 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,825,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,094,000 after acquiring an additional 60,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 0.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CWT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $50.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.26 and its 200 day moving average is $44.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $50.44.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 67.00%.

California Water Service Group Company 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.