JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $13.99 Million Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 91.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 147,043 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.52% of California Water Service Group worth $13,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,450,000 after buying an additional 26,299 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 3,489 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,559,000 after buying an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 117.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,100,000 after buying an additional 31,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $50.81. 328,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,815. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.75 and a 200-day moving average of $48.02. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company 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. Equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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