Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 5,806 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,806 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,747,000 after buying an additional 110,962 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at $4,704,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 135.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 68,914 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,765,000 after acquiring an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $48.26 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.51.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America initiated 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 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.