Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $467,000 Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at about $219,000. Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at about $3,724,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 15.6% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 102,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after buying an additional 13,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $50.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

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.