Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 40,229 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 40,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,152,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth about $272,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $568,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at $6,823,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $48.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.67. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $56.25.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.