Nuance Investments LLC Makes New Investment in California Water Service Group $CWT

Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,096,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,324,000. California Water Service Group accounts for approximately 9.1% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth approximately $523,255,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,346,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,322,000 after acquiring an additional 34,155 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,470,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,421,000 after acquiring an additional 732,004 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $144,602,000 after acquiring an additional 36,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,613 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CWT. Weiss Ratings raised California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CWT opened at $49.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $53.82. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $308.60 million for 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 company’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $394,979. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group 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.