Northstar Asset Management Inc. Has $2.35 Million Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,788 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of California Water Service Group worth $2,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CWT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $15,095,000 after acquiring an additional 54,277 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,979,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 22,059 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 16.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 4,055 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.8%

CWT opened at $50.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.29 and a fifty-two week high of $53.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.88 and a 200-day moving average of $46.72.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 60.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total value of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,012,638.48. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. 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. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.