Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New Investment in California Water Service Group $CWT

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $523,255,000. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,324,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,285,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 26.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,642,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $48.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.99. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.29 and a 12-month high of $53.82. 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 company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.50.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 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 (DPR) is presently 60.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from 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 other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total transaction of $25,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,817 shares in the company, valued at $894,591.57. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,012,638.48. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Company 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.