Arjuna Capital Raises Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Arjuna Capital increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares during the quarter. Arjuna Capital owned 0.14% of California Water Service Group worth $3,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 297.1% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 16,966 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $588,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $72,559,000 after buying an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America started coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 2.3 %

California Water Service Group stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.34. 391,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,183. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The business's 50-day moving average price is $44.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.21.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.59%. 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 currently 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.