Triodos Investment Management BV Purchases 45,000 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Triodos Investment Management BV lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 493,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,000 shares during the period. California Water Service Group comprises 1.8% of Triodos Investment Management BV’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Triodos Investment Management BV owned about 0.83% of California Water Service Group worth $22,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $239,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CWT opened at $46.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a PEG 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 current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.