Maple Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Maple Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,765,000 after acquiring an additional 57,811 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 297.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 16,966 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $588,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE CWT opened at $45.45 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $44.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.60. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CWT shares. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

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.