ELCO Management Co. LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

ELCO Management Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 10.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,014 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CWT. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,769,000 after purchasing an additional 527,343 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,562,000. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,728,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 204.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 315,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after buying an additional 211,914 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,692,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.4%

California Water Service Group stock opened at $49.43 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $52.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.68.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $56.00.

About California Water Service Group

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.