Magellan Asset Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 61,416 California Water Service Group $CWT

Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 61,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,988,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,638.48. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at $805,904. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $49.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $53.82.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.