California Water Service Group $CWT Shares Purchased by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,764,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,844 shares during the quarter. California Water Service Group accounts for approximately 8.2% of Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned 2.96% of California Water Service Group worth $80,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Amundi raised its position in California Water Service Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,907,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,386,000 after buying an additional 16,346 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,458,000 after purchasing an additional 14,183 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 7.3% in the second quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 751,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,200,000 after purchasing an additional 51,423 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 706,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,126,000 after purchasing an additional 45,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth $30,757,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 target price on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE CWT opened at $44.52 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.05 and a 200-day moving average of $45.54. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.29 and a 1-year high of $51.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.64.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 52.40%.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.