13,060 Shares in California Water Service Group $CWT Acquired by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 21.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 311,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,095,000 after acquiring an additional 54,277 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the first quarter valued at about $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in California Water Service Group by 432.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 22,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 16.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 4,055 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $50.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.29 and a 12-month high of $53.82.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The business had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were 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 was Monday, August 10th. California Water Service Group’s 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.