California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stake Lowered by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,966,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 132,849 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.08% of California Water Service Group worth $361,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,249,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,789,000 after buying an additional 10,993 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,488,000 after acquiring an additional 43,285 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 654,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 95,501 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 613,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,826,000 after purchasing an additional 32,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 575,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,236,000 after purchasing an additional 24,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE CWT opened at $48.50 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $54.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.40) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $111,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $111,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total value of $29,559.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,916.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.