Sei Investments Co. Purchases 29,797 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 129.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,797 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.09% of California Water Service Group worth $2,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,475,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 target price on California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $50.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.15. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.29 and a 52-week high of $53.82.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The business’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total value of $160,210.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,030,756.50. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by 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.