Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,929 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in California Water Service Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 8.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CWT. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Two equities 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $46.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.94.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

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.