Northstar Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Northstar Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.17% of California Water Service Group worth $4,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 130.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter worth about $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $49.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $52.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.96.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.