Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 11,205 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 722,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,205 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.21% of California Water Service Group worth $32,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CWT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,747,000 after purchasing an additional 110,962 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 288,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,097,000 after buying an additional 11,328 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 214,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,619,000 after buying an additional 6,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thematics Asset Management increased its position in California Water Service Group by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 186,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,110,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $47.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

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.