Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 163,160 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 782.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 163,160 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.32% of California Water Service Group worth $9,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,096,314 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,867,000 after buying an additional 240,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,877,000 after purchasing an additional 270,786 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,905 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,488,000 after purchasing an additional 43,285 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 32,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 52,287 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.79. The stock had a trading volume of 710,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,172. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 51.45 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.37. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $59.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $214.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.41 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 6.53%. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.78%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CWT. TheStreet cut California Water Service Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. UBS Group raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on California Water Service Group from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.50.

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.