Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Has $29.39 Million Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 648,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,142 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $29,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,736,000 after buying an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 32,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,747,000 after buying an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CWT opened at $46.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.45. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.