Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maven Securities LTD lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 27,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $51.34 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $51.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.40.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at $805,904. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of California Water Service Group 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 sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

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.