Boston Family Office LLC Makes New Investment in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Boston Family Office LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 10.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 296.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 23,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 17,250 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 78.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 72,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,915,000 after acquiring an additional 31,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after acquiring an additional 48,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $52.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.36 and a 200-day moving average of $51.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 32.37%.

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.