Ethic Inc. Has $297,000 Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $47.69 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

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.