Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,097 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 70,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,081,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in California Water Service Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,794 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 50,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $53.63 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.81 and its 200-day moving average is $51.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $29,365.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,157.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,665 shares of company stock worth $90,093. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Company 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.