Barclays PLC Has $6 Million Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 12,760 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.22% of California Water Service Group worth $6,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT traded up $1.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.60. The company had a trading volume of 407,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,442. 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 is $47.85 and its 200 day moving average is $47.86. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

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.