Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 13,971 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 129.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,971 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. 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. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,582,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded up $0.84 on Wednesday, hitting $46.41. 219,922 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 310,343. The company's 50 day moving average price is $45.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. 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 one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio 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.