Asset Planning Inc Invests $204,000 in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 4,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 95.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 49,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,703,000 after purchasing an additional 24,402 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $7,700,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $45.62 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.22 and a 200 day moving average of $50.19.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. 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 32.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

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.