KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 12,100 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CWT. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $48.55 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.97 and a 200-day moving average of $48.40. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.