Nuance Investments LLC Purchases New Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,096,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,324,000. California Water Service Group makes up approximately 9.1% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 1.77% of California Water Service Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 228.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,100 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $48,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,904. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $394,979 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.7%

CWT stock opened at $49.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.38. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.29 and a one year high of $53.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $308.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CWT. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research 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 research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

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.