Mariner LLC Acquires 8,299 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Mariner LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 36.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,299 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned 0.05% of California Water Service Group worth $1,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,642,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,073,000 after buying an additional 49,107 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,998,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,736,000 after buying an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT traded up $1.05 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 company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.86.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 36.70%.

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.