Wealthfront Advisers LLC Takes $2.09 Million Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 46,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,088,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $47.45 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.13.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CWT. Bank of America began coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

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.