6,038 Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Bought by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Boston Family Office LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America initiated 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 for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

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California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,086,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,122. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. 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 issued its 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 company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.