Jupiter Topco LLC Takes Position in California Water Service Group $CWT

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 25,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 228.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CWT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $25,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,591.57. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.37, for a total transaction of $186,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,638.48. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.2%

CWT opened at $49.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.17 and its 200-day moving average is $46.89. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $53.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The business had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.