California Water Service Group $CWT Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,135 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of California Water Service Group worth $4,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $136,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CWT. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $55.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $45.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.62. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $52.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.17). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $311.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

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.