Invesco Ltd. Buys 49,107 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.56% of California Water Service Group worth $42,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.2 %

CWT traded up $0.63 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.36. 299,935 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,142. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.94. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 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 firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CWT. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $54.67.

California Water Service Group Company 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.