California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stake Lessened by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 70,642 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $8,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,877,000 after buying an additional 270,786 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 28.3% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,175,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,936,000 after purchasing an additional 479,457 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 3.1% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,570,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,313,000 after purchasing an additional 47,266 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 28.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,096,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,867,000 after purchasing an additional 240,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,488,000 after purchasing an additional 43,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.3 %

California Water Service Group stock opened at $50.73 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $58.30.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.40) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.25.

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.