Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 15,405 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 15,405 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.53% of California Water Service Group worth $14,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in California Water Service Group by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 5,806 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 9,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.09. 24,546 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,991. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $48.47 and its 200 day moving average is $47.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.80 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. California Water Service Group's revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is 52.63%.

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.