Sei Investments Co. Increases Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 129.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,797 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $2,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 67.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1,475.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 2.5%

CWT opened at $50.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.15. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $53.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.70.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $48,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,904. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $160,210.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,030,756.50. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.