State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,609,000 after acquiring an additional 232,344 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,079,000 after purchasing an additional 872,865 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,711 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after buying an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,605,000 after buying an additional 19,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $50.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.45 and a 200 day moving average of $51.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,665 shares of company stock worth $90,093. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.