UBS Group AG Has $9.29 Million Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

UBS Group AG lessened its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 214,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,833 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $9,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CWT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.1% during 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 worth $15,095,000 after purchasing an additional 54,277 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 22,059 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.53, for a total value of $32,952.20. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 23,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,053,357.15. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael S. Mares, Jr. sold 3,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $171,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,100. The trade was a 31.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CWT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of 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 report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $42.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.29 and a 12-month high of $50.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.91.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $214.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. On average, analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 67.00%.

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.