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

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $102,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Boston Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $210,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $219,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $46.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share 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 period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

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.