T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,002 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of California Water Service Group worth $146,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 785.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $46.7850 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.88.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.