Bridge City Capital LLC Has $2.12 Million Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Bridge City Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC owned approximately 0.08% of California Water Service Group worth $2,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 112,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $46.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.79. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. 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 announced its quarterly 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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company 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 report on Saturday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.