Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $3.61 Million Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.13% of California Water Service Group worth $3,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Boston Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $45.48 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released 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 analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio 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.