California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 91.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 147,043 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.52% of California Water Service Group worth $13,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 70.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 12.2% in 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 during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 9,894 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings 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 valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 5,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.92. The stock had a trading volume of 62,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,750. The company's 50-day moving average price is $47.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.05. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million for 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 firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 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.