Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $4.70 Million Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 2.1 %

California Water Service Group stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.60. The stock had a trading volume of 407,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,442. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $47.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.86. 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 (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 business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 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.