California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,088,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 27,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 84,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 16,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth about $4,704,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $46.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.61.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

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.