Norges Bank Purchases New Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 838,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,998,000. Norges Bank owned 1.41% of California Water Service Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% in 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 buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $48.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.20 and its 200 day moving average is $48.31. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research 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 firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 36.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America initiated 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 target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday.

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.