Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Invests $2.36 Million in California Water Service Group $CWT

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 54,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.53, for a total value of $32,952.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 23,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,357.15. This represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael S. Mares, Jr. sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $171,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,100. The trade was a 31.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note 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 note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $43.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.51. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.29 and a 52 week high of $50.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.78.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $214.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.27 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 67.00%.

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.