California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Purchased by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 129.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,971 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Boston Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock opened at $46.01 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.79. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

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.