Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Has $574,000 Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 625 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Boston Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock opened at $46.87 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.94.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. 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 currently 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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