Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,642,000 after buying an additional 158,295 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,384,000 after purchasing an additional 113,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE CWT opened at $48.56 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.65. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.63%.

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.