Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 103,771 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 103,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,704,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of California Water Service Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $239,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 4,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE CWT traded up $1.75 on Friday, reaching $48.26. The company had a trading volume of 552,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,661. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $45.69 and its 200-day moving average is $48.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.70%.

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.