State of Wyoming Sells 1,086 Shares of California Water Service Group $CWT

State of Wyoming decreased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 47.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,086 shares during the period. State of Wyoming’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 204.2% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 315,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after buying an additional 211,914 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth $5,461,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 119,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,435,000 after purchasing an additional 16,786 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 61.6% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 6,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 686.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CWT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.2%

CWT stock opened at $46.26 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.69.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.40%.

California Water Service Group 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.