Boston Family Office LLC Buys Shares of 3,865 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Boston Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at about $119,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT opened at $52.01 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.