Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 17.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,135 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $4,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $136,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of CWT stock opened at $45.83 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $52.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.69. 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 (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $311.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.35 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. 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 52.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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 investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $55.67.

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.