Atria Investments Inc Makes New Investment in California Water Service Group $CWT

Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 16.1% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 29,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,165 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 130.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.6% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 204.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 315,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after purchasing an additional 211,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 75.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 49,420 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT opened at $45.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.69. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $52.33.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $311.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.35 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $55.67.

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.