Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New Investment in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $102,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $46.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.79. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.