California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,806 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 648,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,392,000 after buying an additional 36,142 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,747,000 after acquiring an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 288,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,097,000 after acquiring an additional 11,328 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.55. 275,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,568. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.40. 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 cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.