Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 34,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,582,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in 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 worth $28,747,000 after purchasing an additional 110,962 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,704,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 135.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 68,914 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,765,000 after acquiring an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CWT. Bank of America began 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 objective for the company. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. 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 stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on 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 Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $47.39 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. 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) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (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 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 period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 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 yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

California Water Service Group 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.