ELCO Management Co. LLC Makes New Investment in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $670,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $535,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 19.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,021,000 after purchasing an additional 31,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 3,683.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 30,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 29,357 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,280.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,874 shares of company stock worth $202,318. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $53.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $244.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

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.