Vestcor Inc Purchases Shares of 6,038 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CWT. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Boston Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Bank of America began coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $47.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.00.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. 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.