California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Stock Position Cut by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of California Water Service Group worth $3,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter worth $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at $119,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

Insider Activity

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $51.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.15 and a 200-day moving average of $51.85. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $43.50 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.37%.

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.