Delta Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 64.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 124.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Sonen Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet downgraded California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.2 %

CWT stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.93. 401,414 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 462,623. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.11 and a 200-day moving average of $48.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.40) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

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.