61,416 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Bought by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 61,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,988,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.10% of California Water Service Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth $2,394,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth $3,081,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth $381,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,368,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $53,324,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:CWT opened at $49.62 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.53. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.29 and a 12 month high of $53.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,638.48. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CWT. 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. Weiss Ratings raised California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

About California Water Service Group

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.