Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $1.98 Million Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,056 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter worth about $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 valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $46.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $52.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.74.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.17). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $311.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

California Water Service Group Company 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.