Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Raises Stake in California Water Service Group $CWT

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 184.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,100 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.06% of California Water Service Group worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.1% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 54,277 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 432.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after buying an additional 22,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 4,055 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CWT. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

Key Stories Impacting California Water Service Group

Here are the key news stories impacting California Water Service Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CPUC revised proposed decision authorizes material rate increases (~$90.5M in 2026 and additional increases in 2027–28) and new revenue-stabilization mechanisms, improving visibility into future regulated revenues. CPUC Decision
• Positive Sentiment: Agreement to acquire Nexus Water Group systems (~$218M) adds ~36,000 customer equivalents and ~$109M of rate base, expanding geographic diversification and near-term growth runway. Q1 Results & Nexus Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved an 8% annual dividend increase and declared the quarterly payout — continuing a lengthy dividend streak that supports income-focused investors. Dividend Declaration
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript published — useful for detailed guidance, regulatory commentary and management color on the CPUC timeline and Nexus integration. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party write-ups compare CWT to American Water Works (AWK) on valuation — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. CWT vs AWK Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed expectations ($0.07 vs. ~$0.25 consensus); net income fell sharply year-over-year as operating costs and interest expense rose, pressuring near-term profitability. Q1 Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Higher water-production costs, increased depreciation and rising interest expense (and higher short-term borrowings) could compress margins before the CPUC rate relief is implemented and collected. Q1 Results & Cost Details

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $42.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.51. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.29 and a 52 week high of $50.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.18). The business 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 revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.33%.

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.