California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Purchased by Aigen Investment Management LP

Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CWT. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $47.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.29. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 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 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

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.