California Water Service Group $CWT Shares Acquired by Northstar Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Northstar Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 7.0%, acquiring an additional 6,686 shares, bringing its total holdings to 101,529 shares.
• California Water Service Group recently reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.46 EPS and showing an 8.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a 2.6% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 11th.

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,686 shares during the quarter. California Water Service Group comprises about 1.5% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of California Water Service Group worth $4,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 751.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CWT. 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. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of CWT traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.66. 244,706 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 368,746. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.66. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $46.01 and its 200-day moving average is $46.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.