Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 4.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 285,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,541 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $13,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 277,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,378,000 after purchasing an additional 145,820 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 3,952 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 613,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,826,000 after buying an additional 32,053 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 10,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total value of $29,409.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,251,411.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total transaction of $29,409.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,411.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,874 shares of company stock valued at $202,318. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $55.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.49. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $43.50 and a 52 week high of $55.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

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.