US Bancorp DE Boosts Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

US Bancorp DE boosted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CWT shares. Bank of America started 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 on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $47.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.08 and its 200 day moving average is $49.13. The firm has a market cap 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.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

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.