Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 95.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,402 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.09% of California Water Service Group worth $2,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,609,000 after acquiring an additional 232,344 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,079,000 after purchasing an additional 872,865 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,711 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 2.8% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,605,000 after purchasing an additional 19,118 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $30,153.15. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,750.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,665 shares of company stock valued at $90,093 in the last three months. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $51.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.