Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.29% of California Water Service Group worth $61,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,642,000 after buying an additional 158,295 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,998,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,736,000 after purchasing an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.9% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $28,747,000 after acquiring an additional 110,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CWT traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.82. 342,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,145. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $47.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.03.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm 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 EPS. Equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.67.

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.