By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,747,000 after acquiring an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in California Water Service Group by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 93,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,084,000 after purchasing an additional 45,825 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
California Water Service Group Stock Performance
Shares of CWT opened at $47.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.13.
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
California Water Service Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.
Check Out Our Latest Report on California Water Service Group
California Water Service Group 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.
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