Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $585,000 in California Water Service Group $CWT

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 12,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CWT. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 0.5% during 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. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in California Water Service Group by 67.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 9.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $25,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,591.57. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CWT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT opened at $48.85 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average of $46.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.50 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. 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 is presently 60.36%.

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.